


Ambivalence

by rain_in_paris



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, BAMF Loki (Marvel), BAMF Tony Stark, Except for Loki being sentenced in TDW, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Imprisonment, Mythology References, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Not Canon Compliant Past The First Avengers, Other, Past Loki/OC, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Trauma, Sickfic, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2019-09-13 12:45:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 40,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16892871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rain_in_paris/pseuds/rain_in_paris
Summary: Tony had built his suit to protect himself and others. He should not have been caught again. He also shouldn't have to depend on a certain green eyed individual, who happens to be his cellmate, for survival.





	1. The Waterline

**Author's Note:**

> So, I dunno if anybody on here remembers this. But I wrote and posted this on FF.net (under a different user name) waaaaay back in 2012 and the fact that I abandoned it has been torturing me ever since. Then IW happened (which I still have not seen) and it made me itch to rewrite this story. I could have just finished it like a normal person, but if you had seen my atrocious writing back then, you would rewrite it too. I did add a few things. My memory is pretty bad these days, so I can't remember if I took anything out. But anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it <3

On that night, like most nights, Tony dreamt of water.

It was familiar in that it was where it shouldn’t be. Out in the depths of space, lapping against stars and planets. Glittering silver and shining red where great sharp toothed animals lurked underneath. Ancient creatures; megalodons and whales that could rival several city blocks in size. Yeah, they were that damn big. Swimming in circles, always circles, over and under, in patterns and rhythms older than time. Where earth was, there was nothing. Where the moon and sun should be, there was  _ nothing _ . He was all alone with no one to scream to as these beasts craved blood and gnashed their teeth.

They didn’t quite get the chance when entirety of space was skewered by a glowing arrow. Tony held his breath and threw his hands over his ears before it exploded into a sphere of many colors. Everything fell. Disrupted.  _ Dying _ . Dying on their way down (was there  _ anything _  down there?). Even so, as their last hurrah, the beasts still tried to catch him. Hell, even eat him, maybe. Not much of it made sense, as the nature of dreams tended to be. All he knew was he couldn’t catch his breath. Nor could he move his arms and legs as fast as he needed to.

There was no escaping this.

Not this time. They would make sure of it. 

Oh, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. A recurring dream was a recurring dream. And yet, as common as it was, it never failed to do its job: to scare the ever living shit out of him. But he needed to sleep, with such a long day tomorrow. He wished he had the luxury to stay in bed all day, instead of fighting the clock til the birds started singing. However, that was a luxury even he couldn’t afford. It was all he could do just to pull the sheets up to his ears to knock off the cold air...

Except his hands were locked in place.

Tony’s eyes flew open.  _ The hell…? _

A sluggish blink. Then two.

Then the sinking realization that he was no longer in his hotel room.

_ Okay. Okay. Probably still a dream. No need to panic, here. _

No, no need to panic. Of course not. All he had to do was wake up.  _ Obviously. _ He tugged at his restraints in vain. Oh, they weren’t going to budge. Atleast he could breathe now, but his heart rate was skyrocketing.  _ If I could just get loose from this here _ . But, then what? He took in his surroundings. White brick walls. Dim lights. A claustrophobically low ceiling and the smell of mold. All making its end point at a single metal door to his left. Everything about the place made his hackles go up.

“H-hey. Hey!”

He yanked at the chains once more. Not the most brilliant plan, but who’s to say he couldn’t try?

“Heh, not really polite to drag someone out of their room while they’re trying to sleep. Or, y’know,  _ tie them up _ .”

He listened hard for any sign of life.

“If this is a joke, it’s not funny.”

Tony held his breath. Still he heard nothing but the hum from a vent somewhere.

_ So, what now? _ Sitting there gaping like an idiot was a waste of time. No phone, no suit; that was a problem. Like a stubborn bit of code, this wasn’t going to be solved the simple way. Tony leaned deep into the back of the chair, trying to angle his wrist just right. An unlikely chance it was to wiggle his way out, but what choice did he have, here?

“Good evening, Mr. Stark.”

Tony nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of the man’s voice. Well fuck, add this to the list of injustices done to him in one night.

“I mean,” Tony looked around for the disembodied voice. “It was until you interrupted my sleep to drag me here.”

“Well, I  _ have _ wanted to meet with you for awhile. Seemed a bit more effective to just bring you here, instead of going through so much trouble.”

Tony scoffed. “Most people would think this was more trouble than making an appointment.”

“It probably was. But an appointment wouldn’t work out very well for what I have planned, here."

Tony focused on the voice, trying to see if he could recognize it. But hell, he couldn’t even recognize where his strong accent was from.

“Uh huh. So what do  _ you _ want? Money? Tech? Weapons?”

“No.”

“Trade secrets? Cause you’re definitely not getting those.”

The man chuckled, “Oh I’m no idiot. I know it’s a fool’s game to convince you to hand anything over.”

“Right. See, you knew that already, but you still brought me here, right? Hmm, how will this go? You ask me questions, rough me up a bit and then you’ll have not one, not two, but a multitude of superheroes to deal with. As well as several top notch S.H.I.E.L.D. agents barging at your door. You fight, they win, you lose, I’m free, and with that, I’ll be back in my bed by the end of the day.”

“So, it’s that simple, is it? You think you’ve got it all figured out?”

“Oh, sorry. The end of tomorrow.”

“Ah, quite an attitude you have there, Mr. Stark. Careful. It might make it a bit harder for me to be regretful.”

“Regretful…”

The floor began to vibrate with the deep whirl of machinery.  _ Now _ what? Were they going to crush him with moving walls?

No. No, his feet were wet...and water was pouring in from somewhere underground. So, it wouldn’t be a crushing he would receive.

He was going to drown.

“What is it you want?” he barely kept the strain out of his voice. “Killing me just for fun? Is that what it is?”

“I don’t want you dead, Mr. Stark. I’d rather just make a bold statement.”

It was over his ankles, now. And rising with the water was his breathing rate.

“To who?”

“Let me ask you something. What would you do if that lovely CEO of yours was in your position, right now? What is her name? Pepper?”

Tony’s head jerked up.

“Where is she?”

“At home, I presume. I just want you to think about it. You know, for fun.”

He gritted his teeth and snuck another look at the water.  _ If I could just get loose… _

“Wouldn't you do anything you could to save her? Or Rogers? Or Rhodes? Or any of the other Avengers?”

Tony ignored him. Pulling at the chains so hard, they were bruising his wrists. Water was seeping from the walls, now, and it was rising faster.

“Don't you think they would do the same for you?”

“You know the answer to that,” Tony said.

“Exactly.”

“Why?”

“Because there’s something I want and this will guarantee that I get it.”

He was going in circles. Hell, did that mean they already knew he was missing? Just what was he trying to get his hands on, anyway?

_ So that’s it, then. Somebody knows I’m out here and he’s ransoming me off. _

“Why don’t...why don’t we talk about this? Y’know, the adult way. Because this is very overkill.”

The water was at his chest now. It was getting harder to breathe.

Then, his host fell silent.

“Hey, c’mon,” Tony heaved. “Just tell me what it is.”

Further and further it went.

_ Tell me what it is _ .

“I heard you were waterboarded in Afghanistan,” the man finally spoke, again.

“You...heard.”

The flood was up to his neck. He would be choking in the stuff, soon.

“I guess it makes sense…” the man continued. “This being a fear of yours.”

Tony shook in the water, despite himself.

“Tell me, already!” he sputtered. “Just tell me what it is!”

And right as it reached his nose, the water stopped climbing. It took a lot to keep his chin close to the surface, the way they had him sitting. Too far down and he would be breathing it in. It was already lapping through his teeth.

“Leverage, Mr. Stark. Simply leverage.”

With that, the floors rattled again. Somewhere in his blind spot he could hear it sputter like a shower drain as the water began to recede. He felt nothing but relief, however short lived it was. If he was cold before, he was borderline hypothermic, now. That was why he was shaking so hard. The  _ only _ reason why.

He blinked some of the water drops from his eyes. The door heavily creaked open and wet footsteps could be heard drawing close.

“I think you’ll find your accommodations suitable,” his host said. Tony could practically hear him smiling. “Untie him. And take our guest to his room.”

There were three men surrounding him, now. All in black and grey uniforms that were weighted with armor. Each one wore a mask that covered everything up to their eyes. Better yet, there were guns attached to their hips. Wonderful.

Tony wasn’t about to have anything to do with this.

He was patient while one undid the knot in the chain. An unfortunate find that it was still looped around his wrists.

Okay. No matter.

One deep breath and Tony spun around. He kneed the guy to his left in the gut. The second lunged at him, but years of playing Iron Man had made him stronger than when he  _ was _ in Afghanistan. He headbutted the guy who held tightly to his chains and turned on his heel. The passage to the door: clear.

So, he ran.

But damn that slippery floor, all it took was two steps before he was tripped up and tackled. They didn’t make the same mistake twice. He was pinned down before he knew what to do with himself. Oh sure, there was a struggle, but it was all in vain. They piled on top of him to the point where he could barely suck in a breath.

“You really thought that was going to work?” one of them huffed and puffed with a grin on his face.

Tony growled and reared back. That smart ass lost his balance. Another wrapped the ends of the chain around Tony’s hands to hold him down. Somehow, Tony still wriggled loose and was able to find his feet. And there was only one thing he was able to do.

Pull toward the door.

“Damn you, Stark.”

“You should've brought the sedative!”

“I thought what we gave him would last longer than this!”

“Well, looks like it  _ didn’t _ ,” Tony grunted. “One against three and you’re...” he heaved forward. “...losing!”

The one to his right, the smart ass, moved fast in his direction. His eyes were wrinkled in a snarl.  _ This _ was a challenge. Tony planted his feet, ready to fight best he could. He'd have to give a good roundhouse kick to take him out. That is, until his captor yanked hard on the chain and took his balance. His little pal took his chance and swung his fist straight into Tony’s jaw.

The force threw him off. He was flung in the opposite direction from where he was being pulled. Disorienting enough to get him off kilter. And he was punched again.

“Fuck you,” Tony spit in defiance. It earned him a knock to the mouth.

“I send you in here for one thing and you can't even do that?"

Everyone took a pause at the sound of the voice. Only this time, it wasn't tinny and crackling over the speaker. It was right behind them.

Tony dared to look. He was tall and broad shouldered. Seemed calm, but his outer demeanor couldn't betray the intensity in his eyes. His eyes and his bald head, those were his defining features. He was in a dark brown (not to mention comfortable looking) coat that was completely dry, making Tony wish  _ he _ had it, instead of being damned to his tank top and boxers.

But he didn't know him. No, he'd never fought this one, before. So, just who was this?

“I am so sorry, sir,” Smart Ass stepped up. “He's not easy to handle.”

“Told you to sedate him more,” one of the others mumbled.

“I don't want to hear it,” the man held his hand up, though he seemed more amused than angry. “Just take him now. You remember where I told you.”

“Yes sir.”

Tony let out a frantic laugh. “I'm not going anywhere.”

“Oh?” his host smiled. “It’s interesting that you still believe you have a say in the matter.”

“I’m not afraid of you.”

“Stupid choice of words.”

He moved quicker than Tony expected. Before he could get into  _ any _ defensive position, the man’s knuckles caught him on the left side of his face. He hit the ground flat. Hell that was a punch that nearly knocked his lights out. Tony had stars dancing in the corners of his eyes and couldn’t do a thing when he was manhandled to his feet.

“Did that look so difficult?” the man asked his crew. “Now hurry up, we have things to do.”

“Yes sir.”

They yanked him unceremoniously to the door and out into the world. He had to squeeze his eyes shut when they entered the hallway. What with all the bright lights bouncing off of white walls. It was doing nothing for his fast developing headache. He had to pause for a second. Shit, he just couldn’t get his bearings. Did that guy give him a concussion?

“Keep it moving, keep it moving.”

The one holding his ‘leash’ grabbed his sore wrists and pushed him forward. They chuckled to themselves when he nearly lost his balance. Oh, so that little performance from their dear boss was making them cocky, huh? He took a deep breath. Straightened up. He wasn’t going to let them make a fool out of him.

“Here we are,” they stopped by a heavy, grey door. Every door they’d passed was armored. Just what kind of place was this?

Smart Ass took a key card out of his pocket and swiped it. A buzz, a loud click, and they were in.

The room was small, but not as much as the one they had left. Yet it was just as brightly lit as the hallway.  _ Great.  _ Even better was the sharp scent of bleach which stung his nostrils. On top of that, he knew he wasn't getting any painkillers.

His new living quarters were divided by a row of metal bars. A cage, lucky him. Built so he wouldn’t be able to stand without hunching over. Worse? It was already occupied, though the person appeared to be asleep.

His heart rammed against his rib cage. One more time, he tugged at the restraints. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t  _ stay _ here.

“Go on, might as well get cozy.”

Smart Ass slid the barred door open and the chain holder shoved him inside. This time, he did manage to fall. Right on his knees where it was guaranteed to hurt like hell. He reeled around to make a rebuttal, but they were already on their way out. The heavy clatter of the door was as final as the end of a sentence. He was trapped.

“Damn,” he rubbed the back of his neck. “ _ Damn _ ."

With his arms on his knees Tony stared at his surroundings. Unbelievable. One minute he was fast asleep, the next…

How was he going to get out of this one?

Well...there was something that needed to be taken care of, first. He glanced to his left. His prison mate hadn't budged since his arrival. Creepy. Whoever this was, they were wrapped tightly in an old blanket. A dingy, multi patterned thing with about every pastel color imaginable. Possibly an ancient relic, made with the tender, loving care of a grandma.

_ Boy, how would she feel to know where it ended up? _

How, indeed. Tony eased in the person's direction. Could be somebody friendly, like Yinsen. Then again, luck wasn’t exactly working with him, today. Dread filled his chest as a thought suddenly crossed his mind.  _ What if they were dead? _

Only one way to find out.

He apprehensively shook the person's shoulder. Gently, at first. Must have been too gentle. They didn’t stir at all. A shiver went up Tony’s spine. If they had locked him in here with a dead body…

“Hey. Wake up,” he tried.

Still nothing. Not even a sigh or a grunt. Tony shook them harder.

“Hellooooooo?”

The blanket was practically tossed to the side when they sprung up to hit him. Well,  _ try _ to hit him. Tony leaped backwards, landing on his butt before scrambling away.

“Hey!” he said. “What the hell? What...the hell?”

His eyes grew wide when they truly took in the person in front of them. With the blanket hanging halfway from his shoulders, his face was clear now. Black, frizzy curls stuck out in every which direction and those green eyes hadn’t lost their ferocity since the last time they’d met. At first he looked straight  _ pissed _ . But anger slowly melted from his features and was replaced by a look of shock that rivaled Tony’s.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. No way this was real.

“Loki?”


	2. Wayward Dogs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, all. I meant to post this last Friday, but alas...that didn't happen. But starting after Christmas, I'll try to keep that schedule going. I'm still going to update the FF.net one (will probably have to move that rating up to an M, though). I just need to set aside some time to copy/save all the chapters before I start that. They were all saved to my old laptop, so I don't have any access to the original copies anymore, so that's going to take a little bit of time. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you dudes enjoy it! And merry early Christmas (fingers crossed that they don't make me go to work this year. Ugh!)

The two of them froze.

There was nothing but tension in the air with two wayward dogs accidentally crossing each other’s path. If there were a true instance of fight or flight, well, this would be it. Only there was nowhere to take flight to. And Tony did  _ not _ want to fight this man. In all honesty, he was more confused than all of the above. How,  _ how _  did they get their hands on damn  _ Loki _ of all people? At this point, Tony wasn’t entirely sure if he had stopped dreaming or not. It was all too bizarre to be real.

Though he’d have to say, his life had been leaning more and more toward “bizarre” during the last few years.

But of course they would put him in there with one of the world’s greatest enemies. Why wouldn’t they? What fun it would be to watch the two of them brawl it out in a cage like wild animals. Not like he didn’t notice the camera poking from the ceiling. All a game. No rest for the weary.

Or, apparently, the wicked.

Loki was now completely upright with the blanket in his lap. He was so unlike the way he was before. Less the maniacal prince and more of a college student at the tail end of finals week. All armor was stripped and replaced with a black T-shirt and baggy pants that were both too big for him. Even though his eyes were bleary from just waking up, they looked more...focused. Tame, maybe was a better way to describe it. Either way, whatever rabid bug was in him some years ago seemed to either be gone or severely subdued. Yet even then, Tony was pressed against the wall as far as he could get from the man. Man. Alien. Whatever the fuck he was. He wasn’t coined ‘god of mischief’ for nothing, he knew that much.

And he certainly didn’t like the way he was staring at him.

“Um,” Tony started. “Hey, what’s up? Haven’t seen you in awhile.”

Loki narrowed his eyes. Then, he laughed in disbelief.

“I must have finally lost it,” he said. “This can’t be Tony Stark that I’m seeing, can it?”

“The one and only,” Tony said, putting his hands up defensively. The memory of being thrown out of Stark Tower was suddenly making his headache worse. “Look, you probably already know this wasn’t my idea. I don’t want any trouble. You just stay in your corner and I’ll stay in mine, okay?”

“Why the hell are you here?”

“Y’know, that’s exactly what I’ve been wondering, myself.”

“Did your Iron Man ruin their fun? Or was it your big mouth that got you into trouble? Or perhaps they are just getting more creative with tormenting me. With you in here, I may actually go mad.”

Tormenting him?

"Heh, well, I can't imagine you being a joy to be around either."

"You didn't answer my question."

"They got me as a companion for you. It was exactly as you said. To ‘drive you mad’."

Loki rolled his eyes. "I knew it. It  _ was _ your big mouth, wasn't it?"

Tony shrugged. “You’re one to talk.”

Loki smirked, “Oh dear, I’m so insulted. Such a quick witted little thing, aren’t you?”

“Little?”

“And none of your super friends were around to save you. Sad.”

“Who’re you calling little?”

“I apologize. Is ‘vertically stunted’ more your taste?” 

Loki moved to get up. Every one of Tony’s defensive instincts fired at that moment. He was soon on his feet with his hands balled into fists. It was about as intimidating as he could get, slightly hunched over and a face full of bruises.

“Don’t try it, Catwoman.” 

Loki deadpanned. “Now, just what is it you think you’re going to do?”

“What is it that you think  _ you’re _ going to do?” Tony asked.

“Am I not allowed to stretch my legs?”

“If ‘stretching your legs’ is code for ‘trying to sneak up and kill me’, then no. You’re not.”

“So, you’re going to fight me, then?”

“If I have to.”

“That’s cute.”

“Don’t think I need my suit just to give you one of these,” Tony pointed at one of the bruises gracing his face. “It would be my pleasure.”

Loki chuckled. “Oh my. Well, I could fight you, but considering your current condition, you wouldn’t last very long. Kind of boring, if you ask me.”

“ _ My _ current condition?” Tony noted how thin Loki was. “You don’t look like your Sunday best, either.”

“Mmm, yet a human in a tight spot is much less efficient, still, than someone of my heritage. Though if you’d like an addition to that collection of bruises, I will be more than happy to comply.”

“Doesn’t look like you’re even trying to do anything to me. You know what I think? I think you’re stalling.”

“Not stalling,” Loki crossed his arms. “ _ Threatening _ .”

Tony smirked, despite himself. “Atleast he’s clever.”

He glanced back in the direction of the camera. He bet they were really enjoying this. Thankfully, Loki did seem honest in his unwillingness to pull any tricks at the moment, so Tony eased back to the floor. Looked like he was going to be there for awhile. Might as well get comfortable. But hell, he had so many questions…

“Aren't you supposed to be back in Asgard?” he asked. “I'm not really understanding how you end up in some underground cell in Italy.”

The only indication that Loki even heard him was a simple shrug.  

“That's not an answer. Where are we, anyway?”

“You just said where we are.”

“Good grief, you know what I mean. Details, details.”

“Well, Stark, I honestly have no idea. I suppose they think if I knew the specifics, it would be easier to make my way out of here.”

“See, that's what I'm not understanding. Thor says you can shapeshift and do all sorts of voodoo and shit. How can they even keep you here?”

A crooked grin. Almost amused. Loki looked around the room. He was trying to play it off, but Tony could see the nervousness in his eyes.

“Not supposed to talk about it?”

Loki lowered his head and muttered, “They're watching us.”

That camera caught Tony’s eye, again.

“Yeah, I know,” he quieted down. “Kinda need to know what I'm up against. So, you  couldn't just get out, if you wanted. What exactly did they do to scare you so much?”

Loki wrinkled his nose at that. It was almost a sneer.  _ Scared _ .

“You talk too much, Stark. That's something that will assure you won't last very long, here.”

“Yeah, I'll be fine.”

“Oh, will you?”

Loki sat down. His legs had had enough for the day. Though tired as he was, it didn't tamper his feelings towards Tony’s words.  _ Scared _ .

“Listen to me,” Loki continued. “They will try their hardest to break you. You've been through this before, right?”

Tony raised his eyebrows.

Loki smirked. “Must have been a rather painful memory, no? Barton told me all about it. The kidnapping, holding you for ransom, the torture,” the grin on his face disappeared. “They'll have you crying like a child in a few days.”

Tony chuckled bitterly. Barton told him. Really?  _ That's _ how they were starting the day?

“So, is that what happened to you?” Tony stuck his chin out and crossed 

his arms. “Had you bawling like a baby?”

“Oh, no. Nothing of that sort. Your kind has the weaker temperament, from what I've seen. Going through this before will only make it worse this time around. Like a cracked foundation, the water will seep through and break it further.”

Tony tried to keep that nonchalant way about himself. But  _ dammit _ if he didn’t want to punch that bastard.

“Yeah. Heh, you're a real character, y’know that? Moments of weakness. I’m reminded of that every day. That's what happens when people like them and  _ you _ decide to hurt others. But if you think some goons are going to get the best of me  because of that, then you don't know me very well.”

Loki considered him for a bit. Enough to start making Tony feel uncomfortable. But he kept his gaze even with the little weasel, cause these dynamics weren't going to settle themselves. If they had to live together, he wasn't going to let Loki make him into his own psychological punching bag. That, you could count on.

“Struck a nerve, Stark?”

This time, Tony refused to answer. He was too tired and angry to come up with a proper response, anyway. He couldn't expose the nerve that had, in fact, been struck. He was Iron Man. Water and small, dark spaces shouldn't bother him as much as they did. No, they shouldn't. 

And Loki was not going to be the one to dredge up these old problems. 

 

ooooooooooooooo

 

Throughout what he could only figure was the day, Tony was finding that the boredom just might kill him before the goons got the chance to. He didn't want to talk to Loki, for one. Definitely not. That little gremlin could go to hell, for all he cared.

He gave up trying to find a way out of there. The bars were reinforced. The lock was electronic. There was nothing he could get his hands on to make something useful. At least  _ that _ was something he had in Afghanistan: a task. He could hardly stand this dead, white room with nothing to do. The anti-Afghanistan. The Bizarro-Afghanistan.

Then, there was the concrete floor. He was guaranteed to end up with sores from sleeping on this. It was impossible to find a comfortable spot to lie down. Getting a decent night’s rest would be almost out of the question.

That was apparently not an issue for his roommate. His majesty must have found it dull, not being able to toy with his mind. Too bad he wouldn't be able to convince him to share that blanket, though. Tony was dry by now, but that cold chill had sunk deep into his bones.

But hey, couldn't hurt to try, right?

“Loki. Hey, wake up.”

He got no answer, just like before. Tony was starting to wonder if he was really a heavy sleeper or if he was just good at ignoring everyone. Not like be had time to find out. The main door opened, revealing another one of his kidnapper’s little helpers. This one big, heavy, and maskless. Tony straightened up, some. Better be on high alert.

This particular guy, though, was carrying something. Two covered metal tins, one in each hand. Could it be? Tony's stomach growled in anticipation.

The man unlocked their cage and slipped through the opening before closing the door tight. Tony kept a close watch on him. His muscled shoulders were perfect for blocking any attempt of escape. Plus one gun holstered to his hip...Tony  _ could _ attempt to grab it, if he was feeling brave enough. But no, it would be better to bide his time. (And what was that metal pole in his arms? Best not to find out). There was no telling who was waiting for them outside the main door. The probability of getting killed or seriously hurt was too high.

“Here,” he shoved one of the bowls in Tony’s hands, before he went over to Loki.

“Heh, y’know,” Tony said. “I really don't like being handed things.”

“I'm here to do my job. I don't really care what you do or don't like.”

“Gosh, the hospitality in this place really needs work. Might have to drop a bad review on Yelp.”

He pulled a taser out of his pocket. “Keep it up, Stark.”

Tony didn't say anything else.

Loki, throughout their banter, was still asleep. The guy (Tony really needed to give him a name) kicked his leg to wake him up. Loki grunted and muttered something that Tony didn’t quite catch. But he was obviously displeased with his treatment.

“Wake up,” he was commanded. The remaining bowl was shoved into Loki’s hands. In all his sleepiness, he nearly dropped it.

“Better be careful with that. That's all you're getting for the day.”

Feedings once a day. All right then, atleast there was that. Tony watched him leave, refusing to settle until the main door was sealed tight.

Loki, however, wasted no time prying the lid off of his. Without missing a beat, he scooped the contents and began stuffing it in his mouth. Tony just held his bowl close to his stomach. It was  _ warm _ . How happy he was to find some heat. But the smell was so tempting. Beef and vegetables. Perfect. At last there was a spot of light. Something to look forward to in this hellish place. He opened the lid.

Oatmeal?

“Okay, this is ridiculous,” Tony said.

Loki looked at him with questioning eyes and a mouth full of food.

“You get a blanket and meat and vegetables and  _ meat _ and I get this? What are they trying to do, here?”

Loki shrugged and continued shoving food in his face as if he hadn’t eaten for days.

Tony put the lid back on and just continued using the bowl to keep some heat in his body. That’s all it was good for, at any rate. He wasn’t going to be part of these games.

“If you’re not going to eat that, let me have it,” Loki said between bites.

“Um, that's going to be a no.”

Loki looked offended. “Why not?”

“I'll eat it later.”

“There is no later. They'll return soon to take it back, whether you're done or not. Give it to me.”

"No." Tony turned away, shielding his bowl from the ravenous maniac across from him.

He removed the lid again, peaking at the 'food'. He  _ was _  a bit hungry. And they  _ did _ say this was all they were getting for the day. He grabbed the slimy oatmeal with his fingers, hesitating for a moment. Ugh, well to hell with it. He took a bite. It had no sugar, the texture was awful...it took a lot not to spit it out.

Loki looked disappointed, but continued eating his own food. That delicious looking food. It was so unfair. And the fact that he had the nerve to try and get Tony’s helping, too. But he was able to muster through it. He got through half of the bowl before their friendly service came back to snatch it away.

“Too good for yours, Stark?” he grunted.

“Not my fault it’s barely edible.”

“Well, don’t worry. You’ll be cleaning that bowl soon enough. This one was hard enough to feed at first,” he nodded toward Loki. “Had to force feed him a couple of times, when he was trying to starve himself.”

Loki apparently wasn’t having problems with that now. Tony squinted at him. Was he licking the bowl? Yep, he was.

But that didn’t keep Loki from giving mister butler over there a fearsome glance. And mister butler stupidly ignored it, grabbing the bowl from his hands. Tony half expected Loki to snap at him.

“Better behave,” the guy said.

And he left. He left, but Loki was still glaring at the door. Tony didn’t know what was pissing him off more, taking his food bowl or telling on him.

“You, uh,” Tony started. “You tried to…?”

“What?” his angry eyes were now on Tony. “You’ll be wasting your time asking me about it.”

“Hey, I have more than enough time.”

It didn’t matter. He’d already laid back down and pulled the blanket over himself.

Okay, then. It probably wasn’t tactful to ask him about his...protest? Suicide attempt? Tony didn’t want to talk about his problems, so why would he expect Loki to talk about his?

  
He sighed and laid down, himself. Curling into a ball to try and replace the warmth that left when his bowl was taken away. He was so tired. Sore.  _ Thirsty _ . All he wanted to do was sleep. Eventually, he did. It was full of nightmares and strife. But he did have one good dream. One where he was back at home; with his team, and Rhodey and Pepper. It was so peaceful, he didn’t want to wake up.


	3. Hangman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (omg i hate my writing in this chapter)  
> Argh, a day late. Sorry, I had to take Benadryl all day yesterday, so you can imagine how that went. Weekends are long at work and they suck, so I didn't get the chance to do my final read over til now. I'm mostly excited for the next chapter. While re-writing, I've found that I'm in love with taking a more myth-y approach to the Odinson bros. Especially Thor *rubs hands together*. So yeah, you'll definitely be getting more of that in the future :D
> 
> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy!

It might’ve been the middle of the night when he was dragged back out of the cage. Honestly, Tony had no way of knowing. They nearly scared him to death with all of the noise they made. The masked crusaders stormed in and wrapped tight chains around one of his ankles. To yank him over the rough concrete like fresh kill. He yelled. They yelled back. And before he knew it, he was back in that tiny room, delivered at the feet of his kidnapper.

“I suppose a good morning is in order,” he grinned.

“What the hell is wrong with you people?” Tony tried to scramble to his feet. A boot stomped on his back, to prevent that from happening.

“Shh. Say cheese!"

Tony glanced at the camera. Only briefly.

“I think we should up the ante a little bit, for this session. Give them...a sense of urgency.”

“Heh. Leverage, right?”

“Now you’re with the program.”

Tony heard the door being pushed open. He craned his neck to see what was waiting for him, this time.

“You’re still not gonna me what you want, are you?” Tony asked. He kept his voice even, but the fact that he couldn’t tell what was going on behind him was making his blood pressure go up.

“You knowing doesn’t help or hinder me. So it’s not important.”

Tony tried to free himself from the guard’s boot digging in his shoulder blades. One of the others pulled a gun from its holster to point at his head. Couldn’t have him embarrassing them again, could they?

“Make sure you smile for them,” his kidnapper waved at the camera. “Or don’t. It would probably be more effective if you didn't."

He made his way around the back to grab whatever horrific thing his goons had brought in. Tony racked his brain, both for a way out of this and for what this guy was trying to use him for. But damn it all, he was stuck there.

So he looked up at the camera. Looked  _ squarely _ into it.

“Guys,” he said. “I know this looks bad, but you can’t give him  _ anything _ .”  

He heard quickened footsteps.

“You can’t…”

A hand was buried in his hair and he was yanked backwards. They pushed a tub in front of him and his face was forced into water.

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Pepper sat her dinner plate on top of the glass table, after making a space between the magazines and papers. Nothing fancy. Just a throw it in the microwave and done type of deal. It was missing something, though. Wine, perhaps? She definitely needed it, after the long day she’d had. Going to bed early sounded like the perfect plan for the night. Only one more day at work, before the weekend. One more. How thankful she was. Then a few more days would bring Tony home from his mission with Natasha, if all went well. And just one more month until their vacation in Seychelles. A nice time away from meetings, hours of on and off phone calls, and fluctuating stocks. She couldn’t wait. Plus, there was the bonus of not having to worry about what could go wrong when Tony was “running an errand for S.H.I.E.L.D.”, as he liked to put it.

She soon settled on the couch and grabbed her tablet. Wine always paired well with Forbes, right? Well, it would tonight. Though it was about five minutes before her phone started buzzing. Might have been a new record. A small sigh escaped her lips. So much for that.

“Hello, Melanie,” she said. “Do you need something?”

“Ms. Potts,” her assistant sounded frantic. “The board of directors are holding a last minute meeting. You really need to hurry down here. It’s an emergency.”

“Okay, I’m coming,” she stood and put her glass back on the table. “What happened?”

“It’s Mr. Stark.”   
  
Pepper froze.

“I-I don’t know what happened,” Melanie continued. “But it’s bad.”

She found her voice stuck to the back of her throat. The question  _ is he dead _ threatened to bubble out.

No, no. She couldn’t go to the worst case scenario. He wasn’t dead. He couldn’t be…

“I’ll be down in a few minutes,” Pepper finally managed. She ended the call and raced for the door. Any movement she made felt like it took an eternity. Something had happened to Tony.  _ Something had happened to Tony. _ Why hadn't Fury or Natasha called her? She shouldn't be hearing this from her assistant.

Somehow, she made it to the elevator. Forced her shaky fingers to press the button for the base floor. Did it usually take so long for it to reach its destination? Maybe it was better that it did. She was starting to stumble on nothing, when the doors parted. Okay, stop for a moment. Stop for a moment. Pepper took a pause at the gaping mouth of the hallway.  _ Deep breaths _ , she told herself.  _ Deep breaths _ . One second. Then two. At three, she collected herself and made her way to the boardroom.

Everyone was already seated and waiting. Wading through a sea of grim faces made her feel even more light headed. She needed to get to the end of the table. Quickly, before it affected her too much to even walk. In the calmest voice she could muster, she asked for them to please explain what was going on. Proud of herself for keeping the shakes from her voice.

It was the vice president who decided to be the bearer of bad news. Not but a few minutes ago, they received a video clip from an unknown source. Tony was being held captive, while being half drowned by a group of strange men. Sent via email. Tony’s  _ personal _ email, which meant they had hacked into the system.

“So, not only is Mr. Stark’s life in danger,” he continued. “But other’s lives could be as well. The company’s security has been compromised.”

“We,” Pepper cleared the strain from her throat. “We have people working on that, right?”

“As we speak.”

“What do these people want?”

“E92.”

Pepper frowned. “E92?”

“A project file...we’ve never even heard of it. We were hoping you knew what it was.”

“Figured it was a personal thing he was working on,” the CFO said.

Pepper gave him a small smile. “Tony doesn’t really discuss any of his personal projects with anyone. I’ve never heard of it, either.”

He nodded. Some of them shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

“Even if I had access to it, you aren’t considering giving it to them, are you?” she continued.

“It’s on the table.”

“No, no, no. It’s  _ not _ on the table. That is an absolute last resort.”

“What do you expect us to do, then?”

Pepper pressed her fingers against her temples. “Where is S.H.I.E.L.D. in all of this?”

“We called them right before we called you.”

“So these...these people sent this video out to us, but not to S.H.I.E.L.D.?”

“They did. Director Fury found out about the situation moments before we called. Did you...not get the video?”

“I hadn’t checked my email yet…” she trailed off. She felt sick. Just the thought of that video...the fact that it was  _ there _ … “But we need to wait and stay in contact with them. We can’t do anything rash. That could mean life or death.”

“We don’t plan to act rashly, Ms. Potts, but we do have to consider every option…”

“You and I both know that chances of them releasing Tony is slim to none. We don’t negotiate with terrorists.”

She was mentally repeating it over and over. Their mantra ever since the Afghanistan incident. Their mission statement since joining the Avengers.

Yes, she had to remind herself. Because Tony was in trouble and it was taking every ounce of power not to do anything rash.

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

This was turning into a headache.

Waking up so early in the morning was meant to give them a head start.  _ Meant _ to. Natasha looked around for what had to be the hundredth time since she'd been seated. They  agreed to meet at this particular cafe, right? She checked her phone, again. Still nothing from Tony. If he was still asleep, she was going to have a few choice words with him, later.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had sent the two to Rome, after the city had been under assault by a small terrorist cell. The Fantasmi, they were called. By the public, not by themselves. They were never at the forefront. Never outwardly took responsibility for their attacks. As far as they were concerned, they pretty much didn’t exist. Magical powers. Invisibility. Tricks up their sleeves. That was their tactic.

Which was why S.H.I.E.L.D. was personally asked to handle the job.

Natasha and Tony’s task was fairly simple. On paper, that is. An energy company, Adessi International, was apparently at the top of the terrorists’ list of people to harass. Especially their young CEO, Mia Adessi. Natasha and Tony were there to find out why.

That easy, right?

Natasha sighed into her coffee cup. Right.

Five minutes turned into ten. Ten later turned into half an hour and Natasha had gone from annoyed to worried. She pulled her phone back out and called his number. 

Straight to voicemail. 

Now, alarm bells sounded off in her head. It didn’t make sense to stay there to wait and see. So she got up and went back to the hotel. Might be paranoia. Could definitely be paranoia. But if there was anything Natasha had learned over the years, it was to never ignore her gut. And her gut was telling her that something was wrong.

She hated being right.

His door was closed, however a closer look revealed that the lock had been tampered with. Slowly, she reached for her gun, hidden under the tails of her sweater. The feeling of the wall pressed to her back grounded her while she counted each breath. One. Two. She pushed the door open.

Quiet.

It wasn’t enough to satisfy her. If they were infiltrated by the Fantasmi, wouldn’t they keep the element of surprise? She eased around the corner, ready to fire. Tony was nowhere to be found. But then, neither was anyone else. The sheets were halfway on the floor. A lamp had been knocked over. The two things Tony always had on him, his suit and his phone, were still there.

She took a deep breath. This was bad, to say in the least.

Natasha yanked her phone from her bag. She needed to call Fury. But after scrolling through to his number, she found that this was a blocked route. The call would not go through. Not after a second or third try. Her phone was rendered pretty much useless, to the point where it stopped opening the calling capabilities all together. Virus maybe?Wouldn't put it past them.

_ Okay, then _ . She glimpsed around, looking for a place to start.  _ What to do, what to do... _

She quietly began to search the room. Examining every inch, from the bedding to the lock. There wasn’t any blood. She was thankful for that. However, there wasn’t anything else, either. Whoever had done this was very thorough.

Natasha sank into the side chair, trying to think. It was strange to take him and just leave nothing. There was a motive, somewhere. She just needed to find it.

She stood and made her way to the elevator. If there was nothing in the room, perhaps she would find something outside of it.  Once on the ground level, she marched into the lobby and quickly got the attention of the receptionist.

“Can I help you?” he asked with a professional smile.

“Hi, yes,” she smiled back inconspicuously and flashed her S.H.I.E.L.D. badge. “I was just wondering if I could talk to your security manager.”

He blinked, reaching for the phone. “What exactly is the issue, ma’am?”

“It’s probably a small matter. I wouldn’t worry too much,” she put the badge back in her pocket before a family passed by.

“Probably?”

“Like I said,” she looked at him squarely. “I wouldn’t worry too much.”

Her words weren’t exactly reassuring, she knew. Not by the look on his face. He called the line to the security manager, while she waited as patiently as she could.

“Is this about the Fantasmi?” the receptionist finally asked. Because he just  _ had _ to know.

“It’s doubtful,” she answered, because curious receptionists could cause them to be further compromised.

It didn’t take long for the security manager to get there. Natasha was soon introduced to a small room filled to the brim with screens broadcasting every recorded event.

“What exactly happened?” he asked. “I wouldn’t think you would ask to come back here unless you two were onto something. Please tell me none of these terrorists are lurking around the hotel.”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Tony Stark is missing.”

“Missing?”

“Someone is trying to cut me off from S.H.I.E.L.D.  My phone line is highly secure. That shouldn’t even be possible.”

“Do you think there might be an attack here?” he worried.

“I’d put out an alert. You never know what their next step is. In the meantime, I need footage from...let’s say 7pm yesterday til about 9 this morning from a camera on the fifth floor. As close to room 502 as you can get.”

“Mm. Okay,” he began his search. “Pretty big window. On a Friday night, too?”

“Got to start somewhere.”

“Right. Should we evacuate the hotel?”

“No, not right now. They were already here, if it was even them. Doesn’t seem to be the hotel they want. Just Tony.”

“I’m not going to lie, the fact that they could just come in here and take Mr. Stark like that isn’t exactly comforting.”

“I would have to agree. Do you have a phone I can use?”

“Sure. Right over there.”

He pointed to the phone on his desk. Natasha went over and dialed Fury again. Just hearing it ring was a relief. Even more so when he picked it up in one ring.

“Who is this?” he asked.

“Fury, this is Black Widow.”

“What is going on over there? I’ve been calling all morning! We were thinking they got you, too.”

A confused look crossed her face. “Sir, what are you…?”

“Tony’s gone missing. We’ve got him on tape with some goons demanding a ransom. They’ve been messing around with our system, too. As well as Stark Industries’.”

“Fury, they cut off my phone and I’m on an unsecured line, so I don’t have much time. What are they trying to get out of this?”

“A project file, in exchange for him.”

Well, that was certainly a lead.

“I won’t go into detail, in case of prying ears,” Fury continued. “But I’m sending Hawkeye out to bring you up to speed. Try to lay low, in the meantime.”

“Yes sir,” she said. He hung up the phone without another word.

“Everything is ready,” the security manager said. Natasha nodded. Time to go to work.

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

They didn’t ask him any questions. 

Why would they? After all, he’d told Tony that wasn’t his plan. And while he  _ didn't _ speak, Tony could not. Not when he was trying to keep his mouth from filling with water. Or when they pulled him up by wrapping the chain around his neck. To drown once. To hang, next. And around and around they go. 

Tony was almost at the point of having lost his mind, when they threw him back. The kindest thing they’d done, so far. He coughed over and over, trying to swallow air, instead of choking on it. They jeered at him like a pack of wolves, until his host barked an order. Much less patient than the day (the day? a week? a few hours?) before. The attention for this film should be on  _ him _ . This whole charade was all about  _ him _ .

Tony barely had the strength enough to hold himself up. Up on all fours, just trying to breathe and ignore the burn in his lungs.

They had the chain around both ankles in no time. To drag him back to his cage, in such a sorry state as this. It was no less the riot from when they’d taken him out. Tossing him in like an animal and leaving him to try to keep the black spots in his eyes from swallowing him up. Nothing but determination kept him from passing out. Throwing up. Collapsing.  _ Hell _ .

Time was fuzzy around the edges, by then. But, he could finally blink and not see smudges of odd colors dancing in his vision. Tony eased from lying down to sitting up. The wall helped. It helped a lot.

“I guess,” he was interrupted by a harsh cough. “I guess it’s just...too much to ask for some pain medicine.”

That delivery didn’t work. His attempt at sounding confident was just pitiful. Tony’s voice was ragged at the edges and barely above a pathetic whisper. They wanted to play hardball. What else did he expect, honestly? It just wouldn’t work, if the danger wasn’t convincing enough. He evened his breathing. Slowly, slowly, until he got his wits about him.

It was a bit too quiet in there.

Only  _ now _ did he notice the change in his environment. To turn and see...the blanket splayed over the floor in the far left corner.

Loki was gone.

It was a bit startling, to be honest. Because, what else would they do, but beat up on him some? Maybe. The question of  _ why _ was hovering over him. A video for him? But to who? Not Thor. They would have never heard the end of it. Besides, he was nowhere near Earth, as far as Tony knew. To Asgard? But how would they see it?

For the fun of it? Well, he wouldn’t exactly put it past them.

Tony scooted over to Loki’s side. Just for a moment, he told himself. To feel the blanket. It was cold. Much like the rest of their winter wonderland.

Loki must’ve been gone for awhile. That made him wonder, just  _ how long _ was he in that torture chamber? Briefly, he imagined if they  _ didn’t _ bring Loki back. None of the reasons why were of much comfort. Because Loki was from Asgard, like Thor. And if they could bring down someone from Asgard (like Thor), then how much easier would it be to bring him down?

Tony swallowed. He didn’t want to think about it. Clutching onto the garish piece of cloth, he looked back at the door. Listened for it. They would bring him back, right? They couldn’t kill  _ him _ . That was impossible.

He sank down to lie on the floor. It might be a nice gesture to.. keep the blanket warm for him. Tony slowly wrapped it around his shoulders. That was enough to make him feel better, already. The cloth was worn and a little bit scratchy, but it didn’t matter to him. He tried to relax some, letting his mind wander. To drift back to some good memories. Thoughts of Pepper, thoughts of Rhodey, thoughts of home…

It seemed like an hour had passed before some activity resumed. The guy who’d been feeding them came in. But instead of food bowls, he was hauling a miserable looking Loki behind him.

Emphasis on the miserable.

Tony was about to speak, until it dawned on him that he was on  _ Loki’s _ side of the cage with  _ Loki’s _ blanket. Bad idea. He threw it from his shoulders and crawled back to his end as inconspicuously as he could. But who was he kidding? It was way too late for that. His cellmate was already glaring daggers in his direction. Their butler opened the door and threw Loki inside, before locking up and leaving without a word. Loki kept his footing, but had to catch himself against the wall, before letting himself slide down to the floor with a small, pitiful whimper (one Tony was sure he wasn’t supposed to hear). Funny that he didn’t...look hurt. He looked terrible, yes. But there were no bruises or cuts. He wasn’t wet. On the other hand, the exhaustion on his face was apparent. Actually, looking closer, Tony was starting to think he had been drugged. With the small tremors in his arms and all.

“Wow,” Tony quietly said. “You look awful.”

“I imagine so,” Loki said. His voice slow and slurred.

“Are...you okay?”

“Fine,” he turned and set his unfocused eyes on Tony. “But please allow me to set some ground rules. If I catch you touching my stuff again, I will happily show you why your kind calls us ‘gods’. Do I make myself clear?”

Tony almost,  _ almost _ said something about him being pent up, caught by humans, so he wasn't as scary as he thought he was. Yet, he was already in a bad mood, so better not push it.

“Hey, you weren’t using it,” Tony opted for, instead.

“I don’t care.”

“Guess no one taught you how to share.”

“Share? Ha! All anyone does to me is take."

Loki winced as he tried and failed to get comfortable.

“Now, tell me this,” Tony said. “How does one get a blanket, here? The way things are going, I’m going to die of hypothermia by the time the week is over with.”

Loki, who had wiggled his way under his own blanket, answered with a tired chuckle.

“What?”

“They’ll bring you new clothes. Like mine.”

“Doesn’t look very warm.”

“Everything else has a price attached to it.”

“A...a price?”

“You look surprised.”

“Guess I shouldn’t be.”

“Besides, seeing as how they keep sending you back, I would think your price would be higher. They don’t seem to like you very much.”

“Yeah, cause they sure have fallen in love with you. What with that charming personality of yours.”

“They favor me over you, atleast.”

“You know, it’s really sad that you’re happy about getting better scraps from the people holding you prisoner. You take needy to a whole ‘nother level.”

“I am not needy,” Loki sighed. “I just know how to use things to my advantage.”

“That’s why you’re still here, huh? Do they give you drugs for good behavior? Because you sure look like you’ve had some. Any way I can cash in on that?”

“I’m not on drugs.”

“You sure?”

“You think I wouldn’t know if they had drugged me? My ‘punishment’ is...somewhat different than yours.”

“So, no videos home for you.”

Loki looked confused.

“Ransoms?” Tony prodded. Even quieter. Always wary of that camera.

“Ransom? To ransom me off to my so called ‘family’ would be laughable.”

That was funny. Because Tony was pretty sure Thor would give up a lot to make sure his brother wasn’t being hurt by these jerks.

“So, what  _ is _ your punishment? No ransoms, no waterboarding either, I assume.”

Loki gave him a twisted smile and said nothing.

“A hint, maybe? Will they get a little bit bored with you after awhile?”

“Oh, if you’re being ransomed, you know that won’t happen. Your punishments will be more frequent, if anything.”

“Great. But you still didn’t answer my question.”

Because tactful or not, Tony had to know. He just had to.

Loki’s smile disappeared. He suddenly looked very uncomfortable. Worse though, his eyes were starting to get that semi-wild anger in them that Tony remembered from when he was so nicely thrown out of the window. A chill went down his spine. The same kind of chill from when Thor got a little too into battle and his eyes got red rimmed and static began to pop in the air. He could see why people would worship and make sacrifices to these two. A little self preservation, he supposed.

Not that he was going to, though. Nah, his approach was to smart off until he was smited by one or the other. Fortunately, Thor tended to find him more entertaining than anything. Atleast they were never stuck in a cage together.

“Mine are different by design,” Loki finally said. “Thankfully not as often as it once was.”

He was drifting off, back into his own little world. His eyes eased back to normal and Tony would not be smited this night. He still wanted to drag as much info as possible from him, but what good would it do? He was so cryptic...

Tony sighed. This was hopeless. He curled up again and folded his arms under his knees. But before he fell asleep, he did notice...in the bend of Loki’s arm was one tiny, pinprick with blood smudged across his skin.


	4. Wolf in the Church

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually got my chapter up on Friday! ╰(*´︶`*)╯  
> I feel I should mention that in my story, Clint doesn't have his wife and kids from Age of Ultron. Sorry mate. You get to be a single pringle until I say so.  
> Now, this is my favorite chapter so far because I changed a lot when it comes to Thor's story. I came up with this idea a little after I started my re-write and I'm so excited for it. So, I hope you guys really like it, too ^^

When Thor was a teenager (or the Asgardian equivalent of such) he began to hear voices.

It was back when his father would take him on trips to Midgard. Sometimes for politics. Sometimes for protection. After all,  _ it is the duty of a prince to learn these things _ , he would say.  _ In order to be a good king. _ But, where was the fun  in dealing with such stuffy matters all the time? He’d loved the human realm. Even back then. And young as he was, he loved it even more when he could slip away from his father’s watch. The common folk were much more entertaining to be around, than their leaders. They liked to fight. They liked to drink. They liked to hunt. All the better, when Odin would bring Loki, too. Because Loki was the best person to get into trouble with, in Thor’s opinion (and the best at getting them out of trouble, when need be).

The thing about humans, though, was their constant need to find something greater than themselves. And when Thor would drunkenly give them a lightning show, well, they were convinced they’d found it. But it didn’t happen immediately. In fact, when it  _ did _ happen, he thought he was still dreaming. Until he started hearing the voices throughout the day, regardless of how awake and sober he was. Whisperings and mutterings...and no matter what he did, they would not  _ stop _ . Funny thing, that it only happened on Midgard and not at home...

Regardless of that, it still made him sullen. Quiet. But if Odin noticed, he ignored it. Loki absolutely  _ did _ notice and wouldn’t quit poking and prodding at the matter, in the most annoying way possible. Thor wasn’t going to tell him, though. Not him nor his father. To have them think he was crazy? And he  _ certainly _ wasn’t going to let his little brother know that  _ anything _ made him nervous on top of it. 

Best to just ignore the issue.

However, ignoring the issue was starting to wear him down. And to make things worse,  his father was already planning their next journey to Earth. Thor almost went into a panic, when Odin told him. He just couldn’t take it, anymore. It was too much. It was too  _ much _ .

So, he waited. Hiding in the hallway’s shadows outside of his parents room. Until Odin briefly left. Now, he could freely ask his mother for help. And judging by the look on her face, he must have been more anxious than he thought he’d let on.  She wordlessly listened to him. And then, she chuckled softly, tucking his hair behind his ear.

“Oh, sweetheart. You don’t have anything to worry about. It’s the Midgardians. They’re praying to you.”

“Praying?” 

“Yes. It’s something they do to us, too. Your father and I. I suppose they were impressed by the storms, weren’t they?”

“So, this is...normal?”

“Yes, it’s normal.”

Oh. That was a relief. In a way. But this was a heavy weight to carry. To be a prince was one thing. But to be seen as a god? That was something else entirely.

Not that it was something he couldn’t get used to.

Though that was centuries ago. He doesn’t hear them so much, anymore. Not enough to cause any discomfort, anyway.

However there was one in particular that afternoon.

Thor had been roaming Earth for about two weeks, now. Trying his damnedest to stay under the radar. However, this caught him by surprise. He could hear it clearly, as quiet as it was. Enough to make him pause in his step. Or... _ was _ it there? Maybe his mind was just playing tricks on him. He held his breath for a second. Yes, there it was, again. A broken prayer. One so broken, it nearly tore his heart to pieces.

_ Thor...Thor, where are you? _

He froze right there on the sidewalk. Nothing above a whisper. There was no way he could tell who they were by their voice. Worse, he had no way to find them.

_ Thor, please...please help me. Please get me out of here. I need you. Please. _

He gazed around at the people passing by. None were in distress. He saw no sign of anyone that was.

_ Please. _

_ Please _ …

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Thor was quiet the rest of the day, unable to focus on much, after that. It was easier to stare at the drink he’d been holding onto for a bit too long. Jane was at the other end of the room, working on a project of hers with the TV humming in the background. They hadn’t spoken much. He couldn’t blame her, really. She had moved on after his long absence, but was kind enough to let him stay for the night. He would leave in the morning and assured her such. She didn’t seem to mind, really. Best of all, she was willing to stay quiet about him being there.  _ An important mission _ , he had said, because he didn’t have any Midgardian money at the time and was tired and hungry and had the most convincing puppy dog face of all the nine realms. He knew he could trust her.

“Something on your mind?” she later asked.

“No. Simply tired from the journey, is all.”

“Isn’t the journey just a short trip on the bifrost?” she teased.

“Oh it can take more energy than you think,” he chuckled. And though it could, he didn’t 

want to tell her just how long he had already been there.

“So, what brings you here? It’s been ages since anyone’s seen you.”

“Ah, I’m sometimes charged with visiting the other realms. Making sure things stay at peace.”

She nodded, tapping her chin with the pencil.

“Seems innocent, enough.”

Yes, which is why he chose it as his cover story. So, why was she looking at him like that?

“Well,” she continued. “I haven’t exactly changed much in here, so you know where everything is. Food, bathroom, guest room.”

He gently smiled. “Once again, I appreciate your kindness for letting me stay.”

“It’s fine,” she waved her hand and got up from her chair. “I’m going to bed. I’ve been running on fumes all week, to be honest.”

“My apologies. I won’t keep you any longer.”

“Good night, then.”

“Good night.”

She disappeared behind the bedroom door, leaving him alone with the TV and his thoughts. Thor supposed he should try to sleep, too. Seeing as how things were going, he would have another long day ahead of him. This search on Midgard seemed more and more futile. Maybe he would give it another week before starting somewhere else. Alfheim, perhaps. Or Vanaheim. They would be the more plausible next step.

So, to bed then. Where he finally drifted to sleep.

And woke up in the woods.

Snow was gently falling over the trees and the mountains. It looked like the forests of Asgard. Yet, some parts were vaguely different. The lack of birds, being one. The fact that he wore his sleeveless uniform and didn’t feel cold, was another. Thor took a deep breath and a few steps. The gravity here was so  _ heavy _ .

_ Thor _ .

He stopped.

_ Please. _

And froze.

_ Please, help me. _

At the bottom of the steep hill was a massive, black figure. A black  _ furred _ figure. Thor stared, blinking. A bear, was it? But surely it wasn’t the voice he was hearing. The beast squirmed, trying its best to turn its head. Thor immediately reached for Mjölnir.

A wolf.

He slowly backed away, a few steps. If he stayed calm, it probably wouldn’t attack. But if there was one, there were likely to be others. And he wasn’t exactly in the mood to face a pack of giant wolves. 

Though as he looked closer, he came to the startling realization that this one wasn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. Someone had bound it to the ground. Covered the poor thing in chains and nailed their ends the mountain side. For what purpose, he couldn’t guess.

Unless.

At the back of his mind, he remembered a seer being granted a vision of a black wolf. With the sun and the moon in its mouth and Asgard burning at its feet. Ragnarok, he had said. The end of the Aesir and all they had built. But the sun was in the sky, where it was supposed to be. And if this was Asgard, well, it was certainly whole.

Thor grasped Mjölnir’s hilt with determination. He eased down the hill, holding onto the tree trunks, because sliding down this mountain was a real possibility. The wolf could hear him coming. Its ears twitched to face him and it tried to scramble to its feet. But the chains held fast. It couldn’t even lift its head. 

“Easy,” Thor said. Better to let it know now that he was close. When he rounded to its front, there was still no life shattering destruction. The only blood on the ground was its own. And it oozed from its massive jaws. Thor eyed the wolf’s face, feeling a little uneasy at the sight. Its tongue was lolling out on the snow. And cruelly piercing its snout shut was Gungnir. Set at an angle where bloodied mist could escape the wolf’s teeth, while sharply rubbing away bone and skin. It wasn’t growling, but  _ whimpering _ . And wouldn’t let Thor leave it’s yellow gaze.

_ Please. _

_ Please. _

Thor swallowed down the tightness in his chest. Leave it. He should, shouldn’t he? To have Gungnir itself pinning the wolf down, the last thing Thor needed to do was free it. Yet, the scene was nothing less than painful. He loved animals. Seeing this one hurt so badly was skewering his soul. But surely it was a trap. It had to be.

The wolf laid its head to the side. Its breathing was distressed. Practically begging with its eyes,  _ please _ .

“Thor.” 

He cracked his own eyes open. The forest had disappeared. So did the wolf. He was laying in the bed in Jane’s house, enveloped in blankets and wondering what the hell kind of dream that was.

“Are you awake?” Jane quietly pressed from the door. It was barely dawn. What time was it?

“Mmmph, I am now,” his voice strained from sleep. “What’s wrong?”

“Fury just called, looking for you.” 

She opened the door further. She looked...worried.

“Fury?” he sat up, rubbing his eyes, but had to ease back. Damn, he felt like he had been hit in the head with Mjölnir. 

How did Fury know he was here?

“He’s assembling the Avengers,” she frowned.

Thor’s blood ran cold.  _ For what? _

“He said that Tony Stark has been kidnapped.”

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

The day was so bright and clear, one wouldn’t think anything had gone so terribly wrong as this. Yet still, the tension in the air was as thick as cement. Natasha was familiar with it. It was something there post-9/11, after the Budapest incident, in the aftermath of the alien attack from three years ago. Mass scale attacks always got the best of everyone. Who was next? What was the next target going to be? Rome had been hit by the Fantasmi enough...they knew they were sitting ducks.

Being at the mercy of their  adversaries. It was never a fun spot to be in.

Natasha had finished gathering what she could from the security tapes. One small detail gave it away. 1:53 am. A few hours after Tony had gone back to his room, and there was a flickering at the lock. The door barely cracked open. A few minutes more and it briefly flung to the side and was closed back, as if nothing happened. All without a person to be seen.

Now she was faced with the more difficult part: what to tell Mia Adessi. The girl was paranoid and rightfully so. She was almost kidnapped by the very same people that had Tony. But Natasha wasn't one for dealing with emotional people. It was hard enough to decide if she should be blunt or gentle with this news. Though how can one be gentle with telling someone that their own protector had been taken from his room? Natasha walked briskly to Adessi International, running through all of the events in her head. If only she could figure this out. But, atleast Clint would be there soon. She needed to pick his brain for this one.

As soon as Natasha approached the building, she was surrounded by guards. Some she recognized from S.H.I.E.L.D., though most were private hires. They all knew who she was. However, seeing her there alone was raising questions.

Questions or no, they lead her to one of the upper floors. Up and to the left, where Mia’s office was. The woman was already sitting behind her desk and fiddling with anything she could get her hands on. When Natasha entered, she was greeted with an anxious smile. Mia shook her hand, shivering as she asked in her thick accent, “It’s something bad, isn't it?”

“I’m afraid so,” Natasha said.

Mia looked around. “Where is Tony? Why isn’t he here, too?”

Blunt or gentle? Blunt or gentle? Blunt or…?

“He’s...missing. That’s why I’m here. Someone has taken him and I strongly suspect it’s the same people who are after you.”

Mia gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth. Natasha reached for her. She didn’t want for this to get out of hand.

“Ms. Adessi, stay with me. Calm down.”

“They have Tony? How?!”

“I’m not sure. We’re trying to find that out, now.”

“I don’t understand how this could happen! He’s Iron Man! This doesn’t make any sense…!”

“Whoever did this, I assume, took him in his sleep. His suit was left behind.”

Mia’s breathing sped up and her face grew pale. Natasha stood and went beside her.

“Mia, please try to be calm.”

  
"How can I be calm?! You've lost one of your own people! I can't feel safe if they can just steal someone right from under your nose! Especially  _ Tony _ ! They're probably doing awful things to him as we speak!”   
  
"We're going to find him."   
  
"No one has been able to find them,” Mia sank further into her chair, raking fingers through her boyish short hair.   
  
"You're going to have to trust me.  _ Anyone _ can be found. They’ll slip up eventually. Besides, Tony is pretty resilient. I'm sure he'll be okay.”   
  
Mia didn't look convinced, but she gave a small smile anyway. Teary as it was.   
  
"Maybe. He might be the first one they willingly give back," she laughed.   
  
Okay, disaster averted.   
  
"I'm going to need everyone here on lock down. I don't want you to go anywhere without a body guard. I need to meet with another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent later, but I'll stay here until then."   
  
"Okay. Thank you."   
  
She shook Natasha's hand once more, before they both left the room. What was meant to be a handshake was honestly more of a clutch. Trying to grasp onto any hope that things actually  _ would _ be okay.

_ It’s sad what they’ve turned her into _ , Tony had said. Mia was a new acquaintance of Natasha’s, but Tony had known her for a few years. A fling, if you will, that only lasted until she busied herself taking over her father’s company.

Natasha sighed. She just had to make sure things would be alright in the end. 

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

It was a little while before Natasha left Mia in the care of her guards. She imagined Clint had probably arrived at the hotel, by now. Atleast, she hoped he had. She wasn’t exactly sure when he was supposed to get there, but she had a decent enough guess.

Ah, good. There he was, sitting in the lobby with his bags next to the chair. Back turned. Chin in hand. He’d made it a bit too easy for her to unintentionally (okay, maybe not so unintentionally) sneak up on him.

“You’re early, for once,” she said. He jolted awake from whatever was swarming his head.

“Geez, Tasha, you scared me,” he grasped the arms of the chair and stood. “And try to be on time. We have a lot to do.”

She gave him a look that told him to watch it. He just smiled at her.

“Let’s go,” she motioned for him to follow. “I want you to take a look at Tony’s room. See if you can find anything I might have missed.”

“Alright.”

Natasha lead him to the room, waiting just as she’d left it. Clint cautiously went in first. He put his bags by the bed before picking up the sheets and tossing them back in place.

“Sure did leave a mess, didn’t they?” he said.

“Well, I’m sure being neat wasn’t exactly at the top of their to do list.”

  
Clint sat on the bed and started rummaging through his luggage.   
  
"Come here. I need to show you something."   
  
Natasha sat down beside him. He pulled out his tablet and opened a video link in an email.     
  
"This is what they sent us," he said, handing it to Natasha. 

  
It was a typical ransom. Guy spends the first part of the video making his demands. The second part was what they were doing to Tony. Seeing them force his head into the tub of water was...upsetting. She didn't know everything that happened when Tony had been captured before. But she did know about the water boarding and how it had affected him. With each push into the tub, she could practically see the progress he had made disappear into the water. Clint wasn't watching the footage. His focus was on the floor, the wall, anywhere but that screen. He had seen the video before. It’s not like he needed or wanted to see it, again.   
  
"They left their contact information in the email," he said when the video had ended. "We tracked it, but the only place it got us was an empty warehouse. Some of the other agents are keeping their eye on it, though."   
  
Natasha didn't seem to hear him. She rewound the video before pausing it on the face of Tony's captor. She stared at it in deep thought.   
  
"What is it?”   
  
"I know him."   
  
"Huh?" Clint leaned over to look at the screen.   
  
"This man right here. Their leader? I've worked with him before."   
  
"You're kidding. You think you could find him, then?"   
  
"I'm not sure. He was one of the best, when it came to this sort of thing. If he wants to stay hidden, then he'll stay hidden.”   
  
"But you actually know things about him that'll make it easier for us. Right?"   
  
Natasha laid the tablet on the bed and let out a distressed sigh.   
  
"Tasha?" Clint gently put his hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"   
  
"I don't know that much about him Clint. I don't know about his past or anything like that. We weren't friends. All I knew was that he scared me."   
  
Clint's eyebrows knitted together from hearing that confession. Natasha wasn’t one to admit fear, easily. The knowledge that the man who had their partner was one that could create fear in the Black Widow’s heart? Well...that was something that made him feel a bit sick to his stomach.

“His name is Innokenti,” she continued. “Classic sadist. I always had such a bad feeling when I was around him. Like one wrong move and he would turn on me. I couldn’t trust him. No one could.”

“How did he get work if no one could trust him?”

“He’s very good at what he does. People hire him to do their dirty work. And he had no problem with it. He  _ enjoys _ it.”

“That’s great. Of course this just had to be the guy that kidnapped Tony. How much of a chance do we have of getting him out of there in one piece?”

“Clint, he won’t come back the same man. Innokenti doesn’t just let anyone go. And if we  _ are _ able to get him out of there, he’ll already have experienced the brunt of it.”

“Who said anything about them  _ letting _ him go?” Clint snorted. “We’re called the Avengers for a reason.”

A small smile tugged at Natasha’s lips.   
  
"I've got a few new arrowheads," Clint pulled out a small case and showed them to her. "And I've been aching to use them on something lately."   
  
He pulled the string of an imaginary bow.   
  
"Getting a little violent, are we?" she gave him a full smile now.   
  
"Hey, I don't usually pull the sentimental card, but you guys are the only family I have. I'll do whatever I have to to protect you.”   
  
"I know. I would too."   
  
"Now," he pulled out his phone. "Time to get the rest of the crew out here."

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

An unimportant, yet maddening little detail, when it came to living as a prisoner, was that no one bothered to let you in on what time it was. Loki had drifted through what, a year in Asgard? No clue at all what was going on around him. Unless he bothered to ask Frigga, when she visited him via an illusion of herself that no one but he could see. In the cage, it was worse. Much worse. And to be quite honest, it was driving him up the wall.

At first, he kept track of the days by counting his bowls of food. However, that proved to be faulty when he noticed that his feeding schedule was a bit sporadic. He had gotten to thirty before he gave up. It was really no use to even try.

One thing he  _ did _ know was that he was straight pissed that they decided to house Tony Stark in there with him. Thankfully, he mostly kept to himself. Not like he was any happier about this arrangement. Unfortunately, Tony was a bit too curious for his own good, which meant he was asking Loki all sorts of questions. On the occasion that he actually spoke to him, that is.

_ Are you afraid, Stark? _ Loki had grinned at one point, when the man was becoming insufferable.  _ You damn well should be. And I will have no heart ache if they rip you to shreds right there in front of me. _

He stopped asking questions, after that.

As of now, Loki was continuing the daily struggle of trying to find some comfort. Tugging the blanket around his shoulders did little for it. When he lived at home (no, not home;  _ Asgard _ ) he could have whatever he wanted. From books and elegant clothes, to the most luxurious interiors. Now, what was he reduced to? Not a prince, but a child. A child that clutched desperately to his blanket. He leaned his head against the wall and sighed as deeply as his ailing body would allow. Oh these aches and pains. Could the shaking not stop, atleast? 

He absentmindedly rubbed his thumb over one of the pin pricks on the insides of his elbows. The action smeared the partially clotted blood over his pale skin. How tiny the incision was, compared to the damage being done. He had never felt so ill, before. If he didn’t care so much about his image, he would have curled up and cried himself to sleep. Now, wouldn’t that be a sight? The infamous Loki turning into a crumpled mess on the floor. He would never hear the end of it from Tony. That, he was sure. And how much worse would it be, if Innokenti was watching? The man loved to make his victims cry. Loki was determined not to be one of them. No, he would counteract their expectations by directing a menacing glare at the camera.

One day he would escape. One day he would escape. And he wanted them to remember his face from this very moment and fear for their lives.  _ I will not be broken by mortal men _ .

But time was a slow traveller. Not even he could keep up the tough guy persona forever. So by the time Tony was awake, he  _ was _ a crumpled mess on the floor.

Minus the sobbing, mind you.

He glanced in Tony’s direction. Groggy as the man was, it didn’t seem like he was getting a game of twenty questions. Thankfully. 

“What’re you staring at?” Tony grumped, wiping the sleep from his eyes. 

Loki just shrugged.

Tony grunted. Not like he was in the mood to bother with his roomate, right now. It wasn’t long before Jeeves came along with their meals. (Yes, Tony decided Jeeves was the perfect name for the son of a bitch). Oh, and he brought them water, this time. How kind. Tony tried his damnedest to keep the desperation from showing. But however long he’d been there, he was hungry. Hungry enough to semi look forward to the oatmeal mixture in his future. 

“Aww, look at you,” Jeeves mocked. Though it wasn’t directed toward Tony. “Is the little prince sick?”

The ‘little prince’ glared from underneath his blanket. Tony eyed the rod Jeeves tightened his hold on. Easy to be bold when one has a weapon, right?

He grabbed the back of Loki’s shirt to pull him upright and Loki all but snarled at his treatment. Jeeves? Well, he just laughed at them both.

“Is this seriously all you can take? Just look at you. You’re both a mess.”

Tony ignored him and went straight for his food. Better not to give a bully the satisfaction.

“I feel sorry for the people you’re in charge of protecting,” he continued. “With you being so weak. And you,” he turned back to Loki. “I don’t know how you thought you would become anyone’s ruler.”

“For someone so weak, it sure did take a lot of you to keep me down, the other day,” Tony said. “The only reason Loki is even here is because you somehow took his magic away. So what does that say about you?”

Loki smirked at his comeback.

“Not much,” Jeeves got right into Tony’s face. “Because both of you need a crutch. Loki and his magic and you with your suit. Otherwise, neither one of you are a real threat.”

“Why does everyone seem to forget the genius part?”

“You and your genius are still in a cage.”

“Not for long.”

“As long as Innokenti says you will.”

And he left before Tony could give a rebuttal.

“Ah, the service here is wonderful, isn’t it?” Tony said.

Loki snorted. “Fools. That’s all they are.”

Tony shook his head, rubbing his throat. He took the lid off of the tin, hoping that they atleast mixed up the menu here.

No. Still more of the same.

His neck was bruised from the chains earlier, but he tried to ignore it. Hell, he’d been through worse, it would be okay. The purple and blue hues didn’t escape Loki’s notice, though. Yeah, he knew that it was something they did quite often. Chain you like a dog to drag you around and humiliate you further.

“Like my beauty marks?” Tony asked.

_ That’s nothing _ . “Let me guess. I should see the other guy?”

Tony let out a bitter laugh. “Not that you would care, right? You’d probably help them do this to me, if they’d let you.”

“That would take more energy than I’d care to expend. They can do whatever they’d like without me getting involved.”

“Thanks. I see you’re no less the asshole you were three years ago. Classy, classy guy.”

“Surely you don’t expect me to protect you?”

“Oh, I don’t expect you to pull a Superman or Captain America. I just wanted to see if you had an ounce of compassion in that scrawny body of yours. A soul, maybe. Guess not.”

Now it was Loki’s turn to laugh. “After everything that has happened, you really believe I would have compassion for any of you humans? Are you mad?”

Tony just shook his head. “You really are pathetic.”

“Oh, I’m pathetic? Aren’t you the one making great expectations of someone you’ve fought before, simply because we’re stuck in the same space? And then, you call  _ me _ needy. I will take care of myself and myself only.”

He intended on having the last word, with that. So, what perfect timing it was that a massive wave of pain hit him at that moment. Loki supposed he could never have anything nice. He sucked in a harsh breath. Doubling over with one hand clutching his stomach and the other, his chest. It felt like lumps of sharp glass were ripping through his blood vessels. Damn it, he couldn’t even catch his breath.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Tony asked. “About you taking care of yourself? You’re doing a great job with that, by the way.”

“I...want...you...to stay...silent,” Loki gasped through bared teeth.

“Nope. Sorry. See how it feels.”

Loki dug his nails into the cloth of his shirt. Okay. Okay, it was subsiding a bit now, but still...those waves. They were so unbearable. His head was swimming. He didn’t know how much of that he could take. A few deep breaths...there. It was fine. He was fine.

Then it hit him, again.  _ That _ one almost took him out. With a whimper, he bent over to the point where his forehead pressed against the floor. Was this some kind of joke? That he just had to nearly pass out, right as he was trying to make a point? Surely the Norns were laughing at him, by now.   


On the other side of the cage, Tony watched, not sure what he should do. First of all, what had they done to Loki to make him that  _ bad _ ? He didn’t know if he was hurt or sick.

“Loki?”

“Shut... _ up _ . Please…” he coughed.

Tony clenched his jaw. A part of him said to go ahead, let the bastard suffer a bit. After all, he had no remorse for anything he’d done. Plus, he’d already made it clear that Tony would be on his own for any misfortunes he happened to accumulate there.

But there was that nagging guilt in his chest, that really had no business being there in the first place. Whatever the hell was going on, it was bad enough to garner a reaction that he didn’t think Loki would show under any normal circumstances.  He couldn’t just sit there and let him take it.

Tony groaned. Why should he have to be the bigger man, here?  _ I mean, what’s the point? _  he thought. He crawled over to Loki’s side, leaning toward him.

_ I hate being good. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it… _

“Hey, take it easy,” Tony gently pressed his hand against his back. “Try to take deep breaths.”

“I...am. It’s not... _ helping _ .”

“Well, it’s not like there’s a lot you can try.”

Loki let out another small whimper.

“Look, just lie down or something.”

He did what he was told, though the look on his face made it clear that wasn’t happy with being told what to do. Tony ignored him.

“Now, what’s hurting? Your stomach?”

“I would think...that would be obvious, Stark,” Loki grit his teeth. “My stomach and...and my...chest.”

“Always the charmer,” Tony moved Loki’s hands and began to rub his stomach with his palm. “Is that helping?”

“No,” Loki glared at him. He did not give him permission to do that. “Or...maybe a little.”

“Good. The sooner this goes away, the less I’ll have to deal with you.”

“You...started it.”

“Did not.”

Eventually, the pain lost its edge and it became bearable, It wouldn’t be completely gone for a few days, Loki knew, but he could deal with this.   
  
“Are you good, now?” Tony asked.

“...Yes.”

“No arm weakness or anything?”

“No. Why would my arm have weakness?”

“Heart attack, maybe? You said your chest was hurting.”

“I wasn’t having a heart attack.”

“Okay, well,” Tony went back to his side. “I guess if you need something...I dunno, let me know, okay?”

Loki narrowed his eyes.  _ I don’t need your help _ .

“And just so we’re clear,” Tony looked up at the camera. “If I see any videos of me petting this idiot like a puppy on the internet, I will suit up and kill everyone in here. Including you,” he pointed at Loki. “And we’re never going to speak of this again, got it?”

“Trust me, Stark,” Loki rolled his eyes. “You will not have to worry about that.”

“Glad to hear it.”

Tony kept a watch out for a little while, to make sure Loki wasn’t going to keel over. He was satisfied enough when Loki pulled the blanket over himself and stayed where he was. Sometimes Loki’s breathing got a bit uneven. Sometimes he let out an unintentional whimper in his sleep. Tony asked if he was okay, once in awhile. Only to be answered by a small ‘yes’ or a soft snore. Well, that was a good enough sign, he supposed. On the other hand, Loki never did ask how Tony was. Not that he was going to get too many hurt feelings over it. He would take care of himself well enough.

But, well, that was what being the bigger man was about, he guessed. He was Iron Man. He would take care of others, whether it was appreciated or not.

And he couldn’t help but think that Steve would be proud of him for that.


	5. Blue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey. So, sorry I'm about 3 days late. Every time I would sit on my bed and get ready to post this, I would fall asleep.

“Are you ready, Cap?” Bruce poked his head through the crack in the door. “The plane is taking off in a few minutes.”

“Yeah. I’m coming.”

Steve picked up his travel bag and threw it over his shoulder. Everything was in its place from his methodical pre-mission ritual. With one deep breath, he lifted his shield from its corner between the dresser and the door. This assignment was one that he’d hoped they would never be given. And here they were now faced with it.

They had gotten the call earlier that day. Steve heard it from Fury while Clint had contacted Bruce. What help he could give from New York was done in a haze. The Fantasmi issue was supposed to be a short operation. Not easy, necessarily, but not something they expected  _ this _ from…

“Allright,” Steve stepped out of his apartment. “Let’s go.”

He followed Bruce to the landing dock, where Rhodey and Pepper were waiting. Both of them looked completely worn out. Pepper, most obvious of all.

“Clint said that Thor was already on his way,” Bruce said to no one in particular. “Good thing he was on earth, this time.”

“Thor is here?” Rhodey asked. “Any specific reason?”

“Didn’t ask, yet. But all the craziness the Fantasmi are pulling off probably has something to do with it.”

Pepper’s frown grew deeper. Steve gave her a sympathetic smile and put his hand on her shoulder.

“It won’t last long,” Rhodey said. “I’ve been looking for leads all day and have some guys over there with a search party. With all of us on the case, well, this Innokenti and his boys won’t have a place to turn.”

“Right,” Steve said. “We’ll have Tony home in no time.”

“Please be careful, you two,” Pepper said. “We don’t want anyone else to go missing.”

"We'll be fine, if the Other Guy has anything to say about it," Bruce said. "And so will Tony."

"I know. It's just..." tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm so scared for him. Especially when Clint described that guy. He shouldn't have to go through this,  _ again _ .”

“Hey, it’ll be alright,” Rhodey put his arm around her shoulders. “You know how stubborn Tony is. He’s going to be just fine, I promise.”

“We’ll get him out,” Steve straightened.  “And bring him home.”

She sniffed, dabbing tears from her eyes.  They’d been like a flood, lately. Torrential, since she saw the video. Thirty seconds and she couldn’t watch anymore. It would be imprinted in her mind until the day she died.

“Good luck, over there,” Rhodey told the pair with a tired smile. “We’ll keep everything safe here.”

“Thanks,” Steve shook his hand. “And good luck to you too, Colonel.”

They all said their goodbyes before Steve and Bruce marched in and settled onto the plane. From the window, Steve could see Rhodey leading Pepper back inside. For a brief moment, he thought of Peggy. Then, quickly chased the thought away.

“Did you find out what that project file was?” he turned to Bruce.

“No. It was nothing we’d worked on together. And my breaking and entering skills aren’t the greatest, computer-wise. You know someone had been tampering with the system, earlier. Thankfully didn’t seem to get that far.”

Steve looked thoughtful, for a bit. “So they weren't able to break in. And he didn't seem to let anyone know what this project was. Yet, somehow…”

“...they knew what was in the file. Yeah, I've been thinking on that, too. There has to be a mole, somewhere.”

“They might already have people over here. The Fantasmi.”

“I don’t know…”

“What if it’s a S.H.I.E.L.D agent?”

“It would have to be someone Tony was working with, right? Fury and the others didn't even know this thing existed.”   


Steve nodded. They had been compromised, somewhere. But where? How could they  _ not _ have known until one of their own was taken?

“We’ve got to do better,” Steve mumbled. More to himself, than anyone.

 

ooooooooooooooooooooo

 

“I read about those people on the internet.”

Jane was leaning against the door frame, watching Thor grab the few things he'd taken out, the other night. A bag in one hand, his hammer in the other and he was carrying a sandwich around in his mouth.

“Looks like…” she paused. “Looks like they could be using magic.”

“Yes,” he put Mjölnir down so he could hold the sandwich like a proper man. “I know.”

_ Thor took in the mess made of the dungeon below the palace. The glass wall of Loki's cell had been completely blown out. Leaving shards all over the floor along with every one of his brother’s belongings. It was like the pressure from a windstorm had built up in its center. He eased over the mess. Careful not to step on anything.  _

_ Needless to say, Thor was furious.  _

_ But his temper wasn’t the reason why the other prisoners had cowered in the furthest corners of their respective cells. All of them. No matter how formidable they were, themselves. _

“What does it mean?” Jane asked.

Oh darling, don’t make me say it. 

“There are many beings in the nine realms and beyond that use magick. It means nothing specific.”

_ Although once being infamous for a fiery red temper, Odin had become an expert in keeping whatever emotions he had close to the metaphorical vest. So, seeing the fierceness in his eyes made Thor’s anger twist into a fearful knot. Like when he and Loki were children and they purposefully got each other in trouble, only to realize they’d gone too far and tried to defend the other. _

_ “Father, I will find him. Do not send any of the soldiers to bring him home. You know that won’t work.” _

_ Odin didn’t seem to be listening. Instead, being lost in whatever storms were brewing in his mind. He stared at the damage done, with his hands clasped behind his back. _

_ “Father,” Thor grew more desperate. “Loki...I can find him. Please let me be the one to take on this search.” _

_ “Something dark,” Odin said. “Something truly evil has come to play.” _

_ “I do not understand. What do you mean?” _

_ “You don’t sense it?” _

_ Thor grew still, but he felt he should  remind his father that all this dark magick and such were not his strong suit. _

_ “I do not know what your brother has gotten himself into. But I assure you it’s something I intend to get to the bottom of.” _

_ Thor swallowed.  _ Loki, you fool Could you not just stay still and wait this out?

_ But a millenia. To spend the rest of his long life in a cell. Thor knew, deep down, that Loki would try to escape the very first shot he had. _

Jane looked like she wanted to say something else. It felt almost accusatory.

“With the pace of new technology in Midgard,” Thor continued. “These Fantasmi may just simply be humans.”

She nodded. It was easy to tell that she didn’t believe him. 

_ In the end, it was Frigga who somehow convinced Odin to let Thor find Loki. _

_ “He’ll be too easy on him.” _

_ “ _ Please _. I cannot lose my son, again!” _

_ “He needs to learn that his actions have consequences! Loki believes he can just run around and do whatever he wants. He is too spoiled for his own good.” _

_ “Odin…” _

_ “He is not the same boy who would cling to your skirt as a child. He is a man, now. And he has changed for the worse.” _

_ “I know he has changed,” Frigga sighed deeply. “I want to know  _ why _.” _

_ Odin paused. Thor had to strain outside their door to hear. _

_ “Please just let Thor bring his brother home. We need to fix this. He is still our son.” _

“If anything looks to reach here, I will let you know,” Thor said. He held his arm out (to hug her? to put a hand on her shoulder?), but drew back to rake his fingers through his hair. “Just in case.”

Just in case you need to hide out, because I don’t know how bad it can get. He knows I still care about you.

“Thanks. And if you need my help…”

She drifted off. He smiled, but it was less than half-hearted.

“I will keep that in mind. Maybe say a prayer for me?”

It was played out to be a joke, though it wasn’t, really.

“Pray to who, exactly?” she grinned.

_ “So, you didn’t see anyone,” Thor stood at the end of the newly repaired Bifrost. Heimdall wasn’t looking at him, but something deep in space. _

_ “I would have let you know, if I had.” _

_ “Father said he felt something. Some dark energy left behind.” _

_ Heimdal nodded. Thor felt a nervous flutter in his stomach. He quickly forced it down. _

_ “I almost feel as if I should be worried,” he chuckled. _

_ “I will help you if I can,” Heimdall said. So serious, the nervousness raised its head, again. “However, where your brother has ended up, I do not know. Who he has dealings with, I do not know. I only hope that you might...be able to reason with him.” _

_ Treason. That’s what he’d heard a guard say, when he didn’t know Thor was near. _

Treason _. _

_ “Thank you, Heimdall.” _

“I think I need a prayer for my sanity, more than anything.”

“So, you  _ do _ think it’s Loki.”

Thor winced. He didn’t mean to, but…

“He’d better hope it’s not him.”

She nodded. Not only in hope that it was something lesser than the wayward god of mischief, but that it was something that wouldn’t hurt Thor in the process.

_ Treason. _

_ Treason. _

_ Treason. _

_ Odin would humor Frigga for a while. But they all knew what Loki had done was punishable by one thing. _

“Good luck.”

_ Death. _

“Thank you.”

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Loki was glad to find that the pain in his gut had subsided. Though he’d developed one hell of headache, from such a fitful sleep.

He wouldn’t hold out much hope, though. He had to be as cautious as possible. It’s not like it couldn’t come back with a vengeance, a pain like that. But his mouth tasted bad and his muscles hurt and he couldn’t help but wonder when all of this misery was going to end. He didn’t feel like moving at all, even though he should. Even if it was just a little bit. Immortal (-ish) as he was, constantly laying around on a concrete floor wasn’t good for him. In fact, he’d gotten rather lazy, lately. Not like it was his fault. But lazy was lazy, regardless of whether he deserved to be or not.

He was turned in a way that allowed him to keep an eye on Tony. After all, there wasn’t much else to do in there. In fact, he was starting to find that man an enigma. On top of being an annoyance. They were enemies. Had that not been established? He didn’t want or need Tony taking care of him.

When Loki had asked if he was ‘trying to appeal to his humanity’ some time ago, he was  _ joking _ .

This had to be some kind of mind game.

Tony himself had woken up before Loki did. The bruises on his neck and cheeks looked no better. He sat propped up against the wall. Making shadow puppets on the floor, using the light from that thing attached to his chest. It was like the sheer boredom was rotting both of their brains out.

But the light...Loki’s gaze was caught by it. It always glowed. Light blue.

What was it, anyway?

Whatever it was, it protected Tony from the Tesseract. Keeping his mind from Loki’s grasp. None of the other humans had one. At least, none that he knew of. It was odd, really. Now that he thought about it, he wished he had asked Barton what it was. It was certainly intriguing.

“Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” Tony said.

Loki startled out of his thoughts. Tony found this amusing, much to Loki’s indignation.

  
"Didn't you learn that it's not polite to stare? I mean, I know I'm gorgeous and all, but at least try to be discrete."   
  
“The fact that you find yourself gorgeous is rather ridiculous. Or maybe it speaks on how lowly humans really are.”

“Aww, looks like my baby is feeling better."

Loki sighed. Less than two minutes of speaking to this man and he was already tired.

"Or did I speak too soon?" Tony asked.   
  
"I am fine."   
  
"Okay, whatever you say."

Loki briefly closed his eyes, but it didn’t seem that any more sleep would grace him today. He sneakily cracked one eye open, after a few minutes, because he had to mentally go through all the possibilities of what that damn light was. Tony wore it all the time. It  _ must _ have been important. 

Or, knowing him, it could be just for show. At any rate…

“I can see your eye, Lokes.”

Well, there went being sneaky.

“Come on, Tell me. Why the sudden interest?”

Loki thought about it for a second. Why not just go ahead and ask?

“I was just curious as to what that light on your chest is.”

“Curiosity killed the cat.”

“But satisfaction brought it back.”

Tony lifted an eyebrow. Loki, in return, gave him a cheeky grin. Tony didn’t like it.

"It's a flashlight," Tony smiled, tapping it. Now, it was Loki’s turn to lift an eyebrow.   
  
"It protects your heart. It protected it from me."   
  
"Yep, see I'm psychic. I saw you coming from a mile away and knew I needed something to keep me from falling into your control."   
  
And he was so sincere with his explanation, that Loki might have believed him. If he were stupid.

  
"You cannot lie to me and expect me not to see right through it, Stark. Are you forgetting who I am?"   
  
"The Wicked Witch of the West?"   
  
"Can you not be serious for one moment?"   
  
"Okay, okay. But just one. This thing in my chest and what it does is none of your business."   
  
Oh, so it  _ was _ important. What a wonderful discovery.   
  
"Okay."   
  
Tony looked confused. "Okay? That's it? I win?"   
  
"Why yes, Stark," Loki smiled. "It appears that you do win."   
  
The smile on Loki's face said differently.  _ That _ was the kind of smile someone had when they had something else planned. Tony protectively put his hand over his arc reactor. The blue light that was cast on the floor disappeared.   
  
"Why do you look so concerned?" Loki asked innocently. "I am weak, powerless, sick. You should have no reason to fear me."   
  
"Yeah? When was the last time you've ever admitted to being weak?"   
  
Loki chuckled. "It is a rather hard thing to admit. But I know my limits."   
  
Then why did Tony feel like he was suddenly becoming prey?   
  
"That's...good," Tony slightly turned away from him, bringing his knees up to his chest.   
  
Loki let out a big, showy yawn, before bringing the edge of the blanket over his face so only his eyes were visible. Tony could feel a chill go up his spine. Loki, on the other hand, was finding this very entertaining.

However, he could only go so far with finding his fun this way. They both fell asleep within the hour (because really, what else was there to do?). Unfortunately for Loki, he still couldn’t stay asleep for very long. So, he just laid there. Watching Tony, until he was sure he was in a deep slumber. That’s when he slowly,  _ slowly _ got up (oh, his joints were so  _ achy _ ) and used all of his stealth to crawl to the other side of the cage. Tony was curled in a ball, defensive even in sleep. Loki pressed his lips together and tried to figure out the best way to go about this. He knelt beside him, gently pulling his arms away. The blue light shone in his eyes, bright as ever. Loki carefully reached out, pressing his fingers against it. Even though it was underneath his shirt, it gave off an artificial warmth. Loki ran his fingers around the edge. Was this...was this an energy source?  _ Fascinating _ .

There was a tingling sensation at his fingertips. Like his body wanted to absorb some of the energy. Or maybe that energy was attracted by him. A crease developed in Loki’s forehead as he tried to understand.

It felt like it was trying to pull his magic from him.

Okay, well perhaps he should try giving it a little. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He needed the mental preparation, because he knew he would be paying for this later. His chest hurt at the thought of it. With a deep breath, Loki conjured up a bit of what little magic had replenished itself and sent it into the arc reactor.

What happened next was a whirlwind. Blue light became green-ish hue. The energy increased several times over, sending a wild spark through both of them. Loki snatched his hand away and Tony woke up with a yelp. He looked around, dazed and confused and trying to back away, as if it were possible. His eyes fell on Loki. Who was sitting there frozen with his hand in the air and the most startled expression on his face. Tony clasped onto the arc reactor, but not before seeing the green hue fading out.

“What did you DO?” he yelled. “Tell me right now! What did you do?!”

Loki seemed to have lost his ability to speak. Still staring at him in shock.

That was  _ it _ . Tony got up, fighting every pain in his body to snatch Loki by his shirt collar.

“You better talk to me, now!”

Loki didn’t fight back. He glanced at his hands, then back at Tony.

And smiled.

  
"Your own energy source. Stark, do you realize that…?"   
  
The door crashed open. Both Tony and Loki looked up. Innokenti and several of his men were standing there with nothing but the cage bars separating them.

None of them looked happy.


	6. Find the Fugitive

Thor was the first one to arrive, though Bruce and Steve weren't far behind. Everyone met in Tony’s hotel room at Natasha's prompting, and took a few seconds to greet each other. It had, after all, been awhile since the Avengers had been assembled. Clint, on the other hand, was pacing back and forth in front of the window, while the rest of them took a seat. Gnawing on a hangnail. He was anxious. Natasha was exasperated. And everyone's eyes were on Thor.

“So,” Steve sighed. He suddenly looked extremely tired. “Loki.”

Bruce rolled his head back and groaned. Natasha clenched her jaw. Of all the people...she turned around, knowing this was eating her partner alive.

“Clint,” she called. “Come here and sit with the rest of us. It’s easier to talk when you’re not back there.”

“I’m good.”

“Clint,” her voice grew firmer, this time.

He gave in, shoving his hands in his pockets while he dragged his feet to the group. He sat beside her on the couch, close enough that she could feel the tension in his body. She patted his shoulder.

“So,” she turned back to Thor.  “How long, exactly, has Loki been missing from Asgard?”

“Well,” he buried his head in his hand, trying to rub that damn headache away. “If I remember correctly, it would be somewhere around two Midgardian years.”

“Two years. Two years he’s been running free and you didn’t think to tell us.”

“I was not here on Earth but a few weeks. I fully believed I would find him, by now. Trust me, I have been searching throughout Yggdrasil ever since he’d escaped. And you must remember that time moves differently between the Nine Realms.”

“Considering the fact that he  _ specifically _ targeted us, wouldn’t it have been a bit more considerate to, oh I don’t know, send us a warning?”

Thor shifted from rubbing his temples to running his hand through his hair. Even so, his eyes looked steelier than ever. He was one part apologetic and one part strong in his convictions.

“Loki may be a lot of things, but a fool he is not. Immediately coming back to Earth, right after getting himself on your radar wouldn’t be wise for someone who just broke out of prison. I do apologize for not giving you a heads up. That was ill advised on my part. I honestly didn’t think he would come back here.”

“What changed your mind on his being here?” Steve asked.

“I have spent much of my life by his side. I can feel that it’s him.”

“So, we’re going on a feeling instead of hard evidence?” Clint muttered.

“No, you don’t understand. I do not mean a gut feeling. I’ve learned that magic yielders have their own...signature, when they use it. It takes a lot of time and nuance to be able to pick up on it. But I can literally  _ feel _ that it’s him.”

"Oh, I get it," Bruce said. "It's unique to him, like DNA or a fingerprint."   
  
"Yes."   
  
"I don't," Clint said. "I thought magic was spells and stuff. You're talking like it's something that's already a part of him."   
  
"It is. What humans call magic and what we call magic are somewhat different things."

“Then why is it taking so long to find the bastard?”

“I must be close enough, when he uses it, in order for me to pick up on it. Or  _ has _ used it within a certain amount of time.”

Everyone suddenly grew still. Bruce stiffly glanced around the room.

“He is not here,  _ now _ ,” Thor said. “He  _ has _ been.”

“The security footage,” Clint nudged Natasha. She nodded.

“So, you can track him down for us,” Steve said. “Where the Fantasmi are, Loki is.”

Thor sighed. “Seems to be the case. As long as he cloaks them, I suppose, with his magic or is using it himself, I should be able to eventually find them. And where they’re presumably keeping Anthony.”

“This will have to be an undercover mission,” Natasha said. “Infiltrate and take them down from the inside, by pretending to join their cause. We’ll need someone else to go with Thor. Do you think you can do that, Steve?”

"Sure."

"Alright. I'll need to give you all the information I know about Innokenti. It's not much, but it's a start.”   
  
"Right. We'll be able to go out into the field before the day is over, won't we?"   
  
"Yes. The sooner we get this done, the better."

 

ooooooooooooooooooo

 

It was unfortunate that the cage wasn’t any bigger than it was. Tony’s back was already pressed against the wall. Nothing less than a problem, considering the looks he was getting from this crew. One near the front carried the metal pole that Jeeves always had with him. Guns were holstered on hips. Odd looking guns. The worst part, though, was the glimmer of fear hinted in Loki’s eyes. This, from the man who mouthed off at the Hulk.

_ That _ wasn’t good.

“Now, see what you did?” Tony hissed at him. “I told you to leave it alone, but you just couldn’t do that, could you?”

“You could have just told me what it was,” Loki said.

“This is your argument?”

The barred door flung open. Innokenti stepped in, tall, menacing, with his hands clasped behind his back. He was far from amused. Tony swallowed, remembering the hard punch he’d received from that man.

“What the hell was  _ that _ ?” Innokenti asked. His words were slow and calm, but anger simmered under each one.

Tony opened his mouth, but the words wouldn’t come to him. Wasn’t that great?

“One of you had better speak up,  _ now _ .”

Loki straightened up a bit. And Tony really hoped he had a good answer for what had just happened. He’d  _ better _ have a good answer, because Tony would love to hear it.

“A bit of an unfortunate mishap,” Loki said with an innocent grin. “No harm done, honestly. It’s really nothing you should worry about.”

A smile spread across Innokenti’s face. His teeth bared so, it made Tony’s skin crawl.

“Do I look stupid to you?”

Loki’s schtick was the spoken word. Tony wouldn’t be embarrassed to admit that he was utterly depending on that to get them out of this mess. Especially since it was Loki’s fault for being too damn nosy for his own good. But no, the little bastard cracked a grin at Innokenti’s comment. Because it was obvious what his opinion on the matter was. Like being in school and the class troublemaker was still cracking jokes when the teacher was about to ship him off to the office. And Tony didn’t mean to grin, too. He really didn’t. But Loki’s cheeky smile was weirdly contagious and Tony’s body was just deciding to act on its own, right now.

Innokenti punched the wall, making them both jump. His fist went right into brick and it didn’t even faze him. 

“Is this a joke to you?” he reached to grab Loki.

Only, his hand went straight through him.

“My apologies. It’s been fun, but I think it’s past time for me to take my leave.”

Tony’s jaw dropped. Innokenti and his guards spun around. Loki was behind them. Outside of the cage. As free as he could be.

And it looked like he was about to leave Tony behind.

“Wait!” Tony jumped to his feet in panic, only to be blocked by the guards. “Loki, wait!”

Loki had already spun on his heal, but Tony’s calling made him hesitate. That light on his chest was what gave him some of his power back. He might slow him down. Yet, he would probably regret not bringing him along. Getting back to full strength was at the top of his priorities, outside of regaining his freedom.

He took a deep breath and ran back in. A hand was already on his shirt, but he threw his elbow into their nose with a crack. One down. Another grabbed his arm and tried to wrangle him to the floor. Loki ground his teeth and used the force of the guard’s grasp to spin and throw him into another. Two and three down. But he could feel the crackling in his joints. A sharp pain in his left side. Damn, this wouldn’t do. He had to be careful. Using more magic wouldn’t be efficient. However at this point, it didn’t look like he had a choice. 

Loki made his form transparent. He should be able to hold it for bits and pieces at a time. That made it easier to get through those goons. He solidified to grab Tony’s wrist. The plan was to transfer the transparency to him as well. He didn’t get the chance.

One of the guards shot him in the arm. Tony yanked his hand away, eyes wide. Ah, the Smartass. Of course it had to be him. The bullet...actually it didn’t look much like a bullet. More like a tiny dart. It didn’t quite go all the way through.  Oh, but it still hurt like hell in a way that pissed Loki off. 

And apparently was the distraction they needed.

Innokenti came from behind and bashed the metal pole over Loki’s head. He fell to his knee, eyes wide. Before Tony could take action, Innokenti snatched the collar of Loki’s shirt and pressed the end of the pole  _ hard _ into his side.

So...that’s what it was for.

Electric shock.

Loki cried out, scrambling and trying to wrench away from Innokenti’s hold. Yet, whenever the pole slipped, Innokenti quickly adjusted it and continued the onslaught. 

Tony rushed though the cage door and drew his fist back. He was tripped up before he could get to his target. Yanked away by guards who were determined to get the last word in. Tony fell to the floor and took the opportunity to grab the guard’s leg. A second and he was on the floor with him. Then, he could see Smartass trying to charge in his direction. Tony swung his foot and kicked him in the gut. They didn’t have much time. He could hear Loki still struggling. Screaming.

He took the chance. Tony ripped the gun from Smartass’s holster. The guard he’d taken down several seconds before had gotten up. Ready to strike. But he paused and put his hands in the air.

“Don’t move!” Tony growled.

“Get your weapons out,” the guard yelled. “He’s armed.”

There were still two standing. Smartass was struggling to get up, holding onto his stomach with his hand. Tony had to be fast on his feet. They wouldn’t hesitate to shoot him down.

He turned, pointing the gun at Innokenti.

“Let him go!” Tony demanded.

Innokenti had his hands wrapped around Loki’s throat while a guard dug the pole into his ribs. He was snarling and clawing at their arms, but his strength had left him. His movements were sluggish and his limbs suddenly felt so weak. Was that what the darts would do? Suck out their victims’ energy? Partial paralysis?  

Tony cocked the hammer of the gun. “Did you hear me? I said let him go!”

Innokenti didn't let up. Loki was being driven into a full panic, now. His eyes were wild with it. Growls turned into painful coughs as he tried to breathe. Innokenti stared Tony down, daring him to do something about it. Smartass was on his feet, not really knowing what to do with himself. Tony now had three guns on him.   
  
"You shoot me, I shoot him. It's that simple. You need your boss, don't you?”

  
Innokenti smiled. Loki's hands were gripped tightly around his wrists.

“Looks like someone has quite some balls, now that he’s got a gun.”

And then Innokenti finally,  _ finally _ ordered the guard to leave Loki alone. He stood up, letting him go. The others ran at Tony, knocking the gun out of his hand and forcing him against the wall.   
  
He could see Loki still laying on the floor. He was rubbing his throat, relieved to be able to breathe again. His other arm was around his midsection. Shaking. Shuddering. Ragged breathing.   
  
And the blood from the back of his head was all over the floor.   
  
_ Come on, Loki. Get up. Please get up and get us out of this mess.  _   
  
But who was he kidding? No, this was it for any chance they had.   
  
Innokenti grabbed Loki by the hair and dragged him back to the cage. The others were about to force Tony back in there as well, when their boss held a hand up.   
  
"No! Leave him out," Innokenti yelled at them. Then he pointed to one of them near the back. "You. I think it's time we silence this one."   
  
This one. This one?  _ What is he going to do now? _ Tony tried to wrench away from their hold. Smartass snagged some cuffs from his belt and put an end to that. Making sure the edges of them cut into Tony’s wrists. Had to get redemption somehow, right?

Innokenti’s errand boy quickly returned. And Tony was quickly finding out that the one they were going to silence wasn’t him. It was Loki.

  
"You must be really proud of yourself," Innokenti said to him. He took the tongs from the newly returned guard. "Almost getting out. I'll admit I'm impressed. But you'd better give me one good reason why I shouldn't beat you senseless."   
  
"You already know why you can't," Loki said, his voice quiet and rough.   
  
"No, she said I couldn't kill you. That leaves me a lot of room to be creative. I might be reasonable if you beg for forgiveness.”   
  
Loki chuckled. To  _ beg _ . Maybe he should’ve considered it. It might’ve been the smart thing to do.

But he was tired.   
  
So sick and so tired of being disrespected.  _ Abused _ .   
  
He looked Innokenti square in the eye, mustering up as much defiance as he could before he spit in his face.   
  
Innokenti clenched his jaw. Several variations of anger drifted over his features.   
  
Tony sucked in a breath.  _ Loki, you idiot. _ He eyed the tongs. He eyed what they were holding. A piece of hot coal. Considering that they knew he was afraid of water, Tony wondered just how much of his hold in Afghanistan he knew about. Because this was getting too familiar.

  
Innokenti bent over and pried Loki's mouth open. It was a struggle. Loki did everything he could muster to try to get away from his tight hold. Innokenti nodded to the guard closest to him. The guard strode across the room to grab the pole left on the floor.

“H-hey,” Tony called out. “Come on, stop!”

The guard pressed the pole into Loki’s neck. He opened his mouth to scream. And at that moment, Innokenti shoved the hot coal into his mouth. Forcing it shut, so Loki couldn’t spit it out, regardless of how much he attempted to. And waited. And waited. Until they decided he’d had enough and let go of his jaw.

"You'll never learn, will you?” Innokenti said. “I shouldn't have to keep doing things like this, but you keep forcing me to.”

  
The coal was now dropped on the floor. Loki didn't say anything. He couldn't. He couldn't even think straight. His tongue was on  _ fire _ .

“Now,” Innokenti turned to Tony with a bitter grin. “I think it’s your turn.”


	7. The Oracle

Night had settled in before they were truly able to get started. Everyone was getting tense as the hours drifted by, with plans, disguises, and details being set into place. Thor and Steve were finally able to leave the hotel after nine o’clock.

Natasha was pretty sure they had all their bases covered. Their newly recruited “undercover agents” were fairly hidden behind darkened hair. Glasses for Steve and a clean shaven face for Thor (and you would’ve thought they were removing a limb, the way he acted about losing his dearly beloved beard). It was enough, she believed. It  _ should _ be enough, especially in the dark, to keep people from recognizing the famed super heroes. So far, they hadn’t been stopped by anyone, according to the conversation going on through the earpieces.

Natasha herself had moved the rest of the operation to her room. Where the most difficult part began: the wait. She sat at the small kitchen table with her laptop nearby. Doing research one moment and drifting into space, the next. This was going to be one terribly long night.

Clint quietly walked in, moments later. Out hunting for beer, it seemed, when he opened the refrigerator.

“Hey,” Natasha said. “Toss me one?”

He took a controlled swing with the one he had in his hand. Natasha caught it, right before it had the chance to fall on the floor.

“Getting rusty, are we?” he smiled. A smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“I caught it, didn’t I?”

“I suppose,” he sat down across from her.

“Did Bruce find anything, yet?”

“Nah. He’s still trying to research this guy. This Innokenti sure knows how to hide.”

“Any word from elsewhere?”

“Fury’s been quiet. Rhodey’s doing the same thing we are, back in the States. Just...trying to see what he can dig up that might be helpful.”

Natasha nodded. She popped the tab on her beer and took a sip, before speaking up, again.

“Clint, what’s wrong?”

He blinked. “What makes you think something’s wrong?”

“You think I can’t tell?”

“I’m fine. I told you that, already.”

“Don’t lie to me,” she sat deeper into the chair and folded her arms. “Is this about Loki, still? Or is there something else going on, too?”

Clint stared at her for a few seconds. She didn’t budge.

“Well,” he paused, looking for the right words. “At the risk of sounding petty during an emergency, why did you pick Steve, instead of me?”

That caught Natasha by surprise.

“Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I don’t think he can do it,” he continued. “It’s just...this is my  _ job _ , Nat. Undercover work is what I’ve been trained for.”

“Clint…”

“Do you think I can’t do it, just because Loki is involved? He had me pretty messed up, sure. But I’m not broken by it. Honestly, I’m not. I could find Tony. I know I could.”

“Clint,” Natasha sighed. “I know you’re not broken. We all have a collection of wounds, it’s just that yours are still a bit fresh.”

“It’s been three years!” Clint scoffed. “Do you think I’m the only one apprehensive about Loki being back?”

“No. But, you’re being the most obvious about it.”

“I can’t believe this,” he muttered, getting up from his seat.

Natasha rose and  grabbed his arm. “I of all people know that you are the best at what you do. But, when you talked to Thor earlier, I saw a side of you that I haven’t seen since the months after the New York invasion.”

“Let go of me.”

She hesitated. Clint softened his eyes and looked straight at her. “Please?”

She supposed she didn’t have a choice. She let him go. Clint walked back into the bedroom, where Bruce was. He left the door open but, well, wasn’t any use following him right now. 

It was hard. The last thing she wanted to do was make him feel like she didn’t trust his abilities anymore. But after those long nights. The phone calls at three am. The hesitation when aiming his bow during the first mission after the invasion. She was starting to see some of  _ that _ Clint again. And when at work, she had to sometimes make the hard decisions. Getting Tony out was a delicate situation that had no room for mistakes.

“Natasha?” Steve’s voice came through the earpiece. “Can you hear me?”

“Yes,” she sat back down and leaned her elbows on the table. “How’s it going?”

“About as well as expected. We have a trail, though it’s kinda weak.”

“Okay. Keep me posted.”

“Don’t worry. I will.”

Steve drove through the dead streets with the windows down. It seemed like Thor could pick up the ‘scent’ a bit easier, that way. He burrowed down into his coat and wished that he had brought a pair of gloves. The cold didn’t seem to bother Thor as much. Not as much as the futility of this mission. Thor sighed in frustration for the fifth or so time, since they’d left. Steve slowed the car a bit more, thankful for the lack of traffic.

“Getting close?” Steve asked.

“It’s a little hard to tell.”

“I’m guessing that the fact that you can sense him means he’s probably up to no good?”

“Perhaps,” Thor leaned all his weight against the chair, with his hair splayed over the headrest “I do feel it drifting to the left, a bit.”

“So, you want me to turn up here?”

“Yes.”

Steve turned on the signal. Another sigh came from his right.

“I find it odd, how consistent it is,” Thor said. “The trail, I mean.”

“How is it, usually?”

“Strong bursts as he uses his magic. Then there are traces of it. Right now, it’s like a steady stream. I just don’t know what to make of it.”

Steve slowly nodded, trying to understand. What could Loki  _ possibly _ be doing to cause this, then?

“Maybe he’s powering something?” Steve suggested. “Is that possible?”

Thor rubbed his hand over his face. “Sort of.”

Well, that can’t be good.

Another world weary sigh. Harder than the last.

“We’ll find them,” Steve said. “Don’t worry.”

“Father is going to kill him, this time.”

“Huh?”

Now Thor rubbed his face with both hands. “That...damn boy. When I was banished to Midgard, a lot of things were put into perspective for me. I had to grow up or else be locked from home for the rest of my days.”

Steve glanced over at him. “Yeah, Clint said something about that, before. You couldn’t lift Mjölnir, when it was in New Mexico.”

“I could not. Because I was unworthy. When I learned my lesson, I was able to call it back and go home.”

They stopped at the sign at the corner. Steve looked to Thor for directions. Thor didn’t give any, so he kept pressing forward.

“What was Loki’s punishment?”

“Imprisonment.”

“Seems fair, for what he had done.”

“One would think. Not in my brother’s mind, certainly. He was to die, at first. He knew it. In a way, I wonder…”

He stopped. Bouncing a knee and looking out the window. Steve didn’t push him.

“I wonder if he escaped,” Thor continued. “On purpose, because he knew that death would await him in Asgard when someone inevitably brought him back.”

“What. You mean...suicide?”

Thor stayed silent. But even so, Steve knew that’s what he meant.

“Why capture Tony, then? Why disappear for two years?”

“Who knows?” Thor softly said. Because he sure didn’t. He didn’t know what went on in Loki’s head at any given time. And now, even less so. 

_ ‘Who knows?  Who knows indeed??’ _

Thor blinked. He looked around. That voice was familiar, in a way that made his skin crawl.

_ ‘Certainly not I, Odinson.’ _

Thor looked out the window to search the dark streets.

The wolf.

He leaned forward. Surely not.  _ Surely _ not.

He only caught a glimpse and it disappeared. An apparition. Even then a terror in its own right. Not trapped and scared like it was in his dream.

Vicious.

Angry.

Half its face was missing, where Gungnir had presumably ripped it off.

Thor blinked. It had to be an illusion, right?

It wasn’t real.

It was the lack of sleep. It was the worry. It was the anger. It  _ was not real _ .

He was not a seer.

He shouldn’t be seeing this.

“Thor?”

_ Please. _

“Thor?”

_ Please. _

“Are you allright?”

_ You don’t see? _

“Hey, snap out of it.”

_ You are going to DIE. We’re ALL going to die! How can you not SEE IT? _

“Thor!”

“Huh? What?”

“Hey, take it easy.”

Thor tried to lean back in his seat. He was shaking violently. That awful headache was back. Now, nausea too. He wasn’t supposed to feel  _ nausea. _

It took him a moment to realize Steve had stopped the car and had his hand on his shoulder.

“Is he okay, now?” Natasha’s voice came over the earpiece.

“I can’t really say that he is,” Steve said. “I don’t know.”

Thor tried to speak, but his voice was caught. He felt such panic that he had never felt in all his life. Something was chasing him, but nothing approached. Something had its hands on him, but no one was there.

Unless you wanted to count Steve. But he wasn’t the one. No, he wasn’t the one.

“Take a deep breath. Come on. Easy.”

“Does he need to go to the hospital? You guys might need to come back.”

“No,” Thor scoffed, between harsh breaths. “No, I am fine. I hardly need to go to a  _ hospital _ .”

“Thor, I honestly have never seen you like this before,” Steve’s brow furrowed. “I thought you were going to pass out.”

“Some trick of the air,” Thor grumbled.

“The magic did this?”

“Of course not. Just,” Just what? How could he possibly explain this? “Just keep going. I have not rested properly in some time. That is all,” he chuckled. “Mother always told us we needed to sleep more. Perhaps I should listen to her, more often.”

Steve stared at him, briefly. None of the concern left his face.

“Captain, I appreciate your concern, but we need to find Anthony. An Asgardian cannot be brought down by something so simple. I promise you I’m fine.”

Now it was Steve’s turn to sigh. “Okay. If you say so.”

“You guys are going to keep going?” Natasha asked.

“Looks that way,” Steve put the car back in gear and went back to their trail. Thor dared to look back out the window. The wolf and all its turmoil were gone.

 

ooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Tony suspected that having him tied down in this room for what must have been hours was all about driving his nerves up the wall. Every creak and groan from the building put him on edge. His head was running away with him. They scorched Loki’s tongue for trying to escape. Tony, on the other hand, had actually held a gun on their boss. Surely he was going to get it worse.

The door creaked open, sending the breath from his body. Tony tried to swallow it down. He barely lifted his head to see the bastard with a few more of his guards file in. A fresh set, though smaller in number. What? Was he getting cocky, now? Feeling like they were breaking him?

“You know, Mr. Stark, I had asked you a question earlier that I still didn’t get an answer to,” he said. He reached down and tapped the arc reactor. “What is this?”

Tony pressed his lips together, mentally sending an array of swears in Loki’s direction.

"Still going to stay silent on the matter, are you?" Innokenti said. He grabbed Tony by the chin, forcing him to have eye contact. "Maybe I should try convincing you?"   
  
"Look, I don't know what Loki did to me in there," Tony answered. "I don't think he even fully understood what he did."   
  
"Do you really expect me to believe that?"   
  
"What do you want me to say? I don't know what happened. I was asleep."   
  
"You could have been faking. Trying to fool me."   
  
"I wasn't. We weren't. It wasn't a trick, it was an accident."

Innokenti let him go and crossed his arms.

“Either way,” he continued. “I would still  _ prefer _ to know what it is. And it would be in your best interest to enlighten me.”

Tony gritted his teeth. “It’s just something I’ve been experimenting with.”

“See, I don’t really like vague answers.”

“It’s just a little bit of new tech,” he rushed to dig up an answer. “It’s nothing important.”

“It’s nothing important? If it was  _ nothing important _ , it wouldn’t have increased Loki’s power! Tell me what it is!”

_ Come on, just give him an answer! It won’t matter what it is. Say a couple of big words, he won’t know the difference! _

Yet Tony’s tongue felt dry and even through his scowl, his mind went blank.

“Okay,” Innokenti said. “You want to be stubborn? Fine with me.”

He walked over to one of the carts at the corner of the room and took out a screw driver.

“I’ll just have to remove it and figure out what it is, myself.”

Tony’s face paled. “You can’t!”

“Oh, I can’t?” Innokenti paused. “You’re tied up and want to keep the answer to yourself. I think I can.”

Tony wanted to punch something. Pull his hair. Curse them out. This wasn’t fair. This wasn’t  _ fair _ .

“It’s keeping me alive! You need me alive, don’t you? You take it out and I’m a dead man!”

Innokenti raised an eyebrow in interest. The guards exchanged looks of surprise for some, disbelief for others.

“How?”

‘How’, he says. Was saying what it was not enough?

“Does it matter?” Tony said.

“Oh, I believe it does.”

He let out a shuddered breath. “When I was in Afghanistan, a bomb went off and some of the shrapnel hit me in the chest. My arc reactor is what’s keeping it from killing me.”

“There’s more to it than that,” Innokenti inched closer and closer with that screw driver.

“It...it powers my suit.”

“A battery.”

Tony nodded.

A smile spread across Innokenti’s face. Tony felt a sense of dread.

“This must be the same technology Stark Industries uses for its energy projects. Am I correct?”

Tony’s silence was all he needed to hear.

“Well,” Innokenti tossed the screwdriver back into the bin. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Oh, yes it was. Yes it was and he knew it, too. And now that it was out in the air, Tony felt he should have just let them kill him.

_ I thought I was stronger than this. _

“Don’t look so glum, Mr. Stark,” Innokenti patted him hard on the cheek. “You made the right decision. Though I have to say, having you give it away was a lot less work than I thought it would be. Maybe I should have just asked you to tell me where the file was, after all.”

“Never.”

“Oh, don’t use that word. I like a good challenge.”

He went back to the cart, sifting through its contents like he was simply looking through a book. “Let’s see, let’s see. What to do with you. You  _ have _ gotten rather bold. I think it’s time to put an end to that.”

“What about the cattle prod?” a guard piped up.

“Mm, maybe. Not the one for Loki, though. That one might kill him. Oh, I’ve got it!”

He pulled out a pair of pliers. Tony’s breathing rate went up.

“One of you, hold him down,” Innokenti clacked the two ends of the pliers together. “And keep his mouth open for me.”

 

ooooooooooooooooooooo

 

By the time they’d hauled Tony off to the cage, his whole face felt swollen. Breathing through his mouth hurt. Breathing through his nose hurt almost as much. Three teeth had been ripped from his gums. One for attempting to escape, one for disobedience (as in, not telling him what the arc reactor was the first time he’d asked), and the last for pointing a gun in his direction. Also, a punch on the side of his face for that one, too. Tony was sure he had blacked out for a second.

Teaching him to stay in line. That was the overall goal, outside of getting reel for their little web show.

The cold air made it so much worse for the empty sockets in his mouth. He kept having to swallow down the blood that coated his tongue. Spitting, he remembered, would make healing even more miserable than it had to be. That’s what the dentists always said when they pulled teeth the proper way, right? And he didn’t need anymore pain. Not after Innokenti had broken ligaments and teeth and whatever else to get to the end goal, here. But the blood was making his stomach feel sick. And his jaws throbbed and ached to the point where he couldn’t see straight.

“Did you learn your lesson, Mr. Stark?” Innokenti had asked.

And Tony had slowly nodded his head. Despite everything he actually wanted to do.

“Good. Now you can rest.”

The most surprising thing Tony had found was that Loki was still there. Watching his entrance with an unreadable expression. Tony briefly wondered if this was the only cage they had.

There was an ominous looking collar around his neck, though. He was sure nothing good was coming from that thing.

Loki arched an eyebrow at him, when he sat down. Probably wondering what had happened to him. Tony stayed quiet on the matter, though. Not like it was a good idea to try and talk with his gums feeling like this. He just leaned up against the wall and curled an arm around his knees. Pressing his free hand against his swollen cheek didn’t help much. Not something that was really surprising.

There was a clink to his left. Somehow, just the  _ sound _ made his face throb more. Then, there was another clink. And another.

Tony sighed deeply. “ _ What? _ ”

“Are...are you...oh’ay?”

“Am I okay?” Tony’s brows scrunched together. He could’ve laughed in disbelief. Maybe the pain was driving him off the deep end. He had to have imagined that.

But no. Loki cocked his head like a damn dog and actually looked half way concerned. He didn’t say anything else, but it was obvious he expected an answer. This was crazy if Tony had ever seen it.

“Um,” he winced and pressed his jaw harder. “...no. Not...not really.”

Loki cocked his head in the other direction. Tony really wished he would stop doing that.

“...hurts. Yeah, hurts like a bitch.”

“Wha...wha did ‘e...do...to you?”

“Ripped some…” Tony squeezed his eyes shut.  _ Ow. _ “Ripped some teeth out.”

Loki didn’t look too astonished. He simply nodded.

“Seems to...kinda be into mouth stuff today, I guess,” Tony continued. “Probably just...wants us both to shut up or something…”

Loki chuckled. Tony did for a second. He had to swallow down more blood. Ugh, how gross.

“Wants to...to talk,” now Loki winced. “Doesn’t want anyone else to.”

“Hmm?”

“Innokenti.”

“That’s his...name?”

Loki nodded.

Tony stared at him for a moment. Still, his expression was unreadable.

“Can I see?” Loki suddenly asked.

Tony blinked. “What? My teeth?”

“Mmhm.”

“Eh...don’t know why... _ mph _ ...why you want to. If I open my mouth anymore than this...well, I promise you I’ll pass out.”

Loki nodded again. He could figure out enough, though. Back molars. Cracked them open. He could see the familiar tear tracks on Tony’s face from where his eyes had watered,  _ streaming _ at that point. There was a bit of a difference though, in that Loki’s grew back.

Blame it on the Jotun anatomy, he supposed. Not even Thor could regrow  _ teeth _ .

But right now, Tony had his head buried in his knees. No pain relief. No nothing. There wasn’t even a need for it, being that cruel. Innokenti wasn’t exactly filming for ransom, at the moment. He was a fool, that man was. Humans, even the ones in iron suits, could only tolerate but so much pain. Not that Loki cared. He had something else in mind. The light on Tony’s chest had made it out of this debacle okay. That was the most important part.

Yes, that was the most important part. Because that little light was going to be his key to freedom.

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

“You’re absolutely sure this is where the trail ends?”

Thor slowly nodded. “Positive.”

Steve leaned back in his seat.  _ You’ve got to be kidding me _ .

“Natasha,” he said into the ear piece.

“I’m here. Any news?”

“Oh, yes. And trust me, you are not going to like this.”

“Where are you?”

Steve stared ahead at the building in front of the car.

“Adessi International.”


	8. Aren't You Supposed to be Silver Tongued?

“I don’t see him, anywhere,” Steve shut the car door. He leaned over to check out their surroundings.

“Just how strong is the signature?” Natasha asked through the earpiece.

Steve looked over to where Thor was standing. He was facing the building, fully alert. Brow furrowed and lips pressed together.

“What’s wrong?” Steve asked.

“I’m...I’m not sure,” Thor took a few steps across the parking lot. “It ends here. This is where it’s at its strongest.”

“But?”

“It’s going that way, as well,” he pointed ahead. Toward darkened streets and beyond, the city.

Steve trotted over. Nothing seemed unusual from where they were standing. However, it was easy to tell that something was seriously off.

“Steve?” Natasha called. “Are you there?”

“Um, yeah. Thor just said his signature is, I don’t know, split off in two directions?”

Thor nodded, confirming it.

“How? Is that normal?”

“I don’t think so.”

Natasha got up from her seat and took a fast pace to the bedroom where Clint and Bruce were. Both of them looked up when she entered. Clint, from his spot on the bed and Bruce from the desk where he was researching on the laptop.

“Bad news,” she said. “Loki’s signature leads to Adessi International.”  

They both sat straight up.

"Isn't that...?" Bruce asked.   
  
"Yes."   
  
"Wait a minute," Clint said. "His signature is split two ways? How is he pulling that off?"   
  
"I don't know."   
  
"He could be making duplicates of himself," Bruce offered. "Though I'm guessing they haven't found him yet."

“No, not yet.”

Clint rubbed his forehead. “I hate magic.”

“We’re about to go in,” Steve said through the earpiece.

“Okay,” Natasha answered. “Be careful.” 

“This would be so much easier if Loki wasn’t involved,” Clint continued to grumble. “What if he’s just leading everyone on a wild goose chase? Seems like the sort of thing he’d do.”

“I have no idea. Anything is possible at this point,” she opened the drawer of the side table. Shuffling through its contents and pulling out a piece of paper and a pen. They had to be proactive. The Fantasmi,  _ Loki _ , may have been able to take Tony. But damn it if she was going to let them have Mia, too.

“Bruce, I need you to do something for me.”

“Sure,” he turned in his chair.

“I need you to take care of Mia for me, okay?” she began to scribble something on the paper. “We have a safe house set up for her, just in case of a situation like this. I need you to get her there.”

She handed him the piece of paper. Which Bruce took and promptly skimmed over it.

“There’s an unmarked S.H.I.E.L.D. car in the parking garage,” Natasha continued. “The parking space has the same number as my room. That’s her address I just wrote down for you. She’ll tell you how to get to the safe house, when you get there.”

“Okay.”

“We shouldn’t have to worry about Loki getting her, with the Other Guy around. I’m sure he remembers him very well.”

Bruce smiled. “I’m sure he does.”

He stood from his seat and walked in the direction of the door. "Anything else I need to know before I go?"   
  
"Her bodyguard is with her. And, well, she has the tendency to be a bit...high strung.”    
  
"I wouldn't doubt it. With this mess and everything."   
  
"Take an earpiece with you. Keep me updated."   
  
"I will."   
  
He left the room. Natasha turned to Clint.   
  
"You're more than welcome to help me with this," she sat in front of the computer, scooting the chair a bit closer. "Two heads are better than one. Isn't that the saying?"   
  
Clint chuckled behind her.   
  
"Yes ma'am."

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

About thirty minutes had passed. Thirty minutes and no progress was made. Steve could see the tension growing by the second in Thor’s shoulders. Things were silent on Natasha’s end. And this quiet, clinical building was leading to nowhere.

Loki’s magic, according to Thor, was staying level. Purely even and ‘tainted with something I have no knowledge of’. He walked confidently, but anybody could take one look at his face and tell that he was frustrated. And on top of that, he was only slightly less confused than Steve was.

Honestly, for someone who was leaving their “scent” all over the place, Loki was playing a good disappearing act.

Both men were on edge from being so intensely battle ready. The quiet was getting to be a bit much. And Steve wanted to be,  _ needed _ to be as ready as humanly possible.

“So,” he quietly started. “Does Loki know you can track him?”

“No, I never told him,” Thor broke into a sly grin. “A little trick of my own.”

Steve smiled. But it left, as soon as it appeared. “This isn’t really working, though, is it?”

He stopped walking. Thor paused as well, looking back for his answer.

“We need to think outside the box,” Steve said. “You know, get inside his head. Everything is off. I don’t think he’s going to be so easy to find. Not even in here.”

“Oh, he will  _ certainly _ not be easy to find. I’ve learned that well enough over the past several centuries.”

Steve sighed. A glance at the walls, the doors. No one else was in this part of the building. He suddenly remembered Thor saying that he had been searching for two years. Two years. They couldn’t have Tony being someone’s prisoner for two more.

“Do not worry, Captain,” Thor said. “This is the closest I’ve gotten, since he’s escaped Asgard.”

“I suppose. But what is his plan? That’s what I’m trying to figure out. If we knew his plan, this would be easier.”

“I would imagine revenge. But detail by detail, I wouldn’t know. Loki thrives on chaos. You think you have him pinned down and figured out and then he’ll take you by surprise.”

Truer words could not be said. Unstable and unpredictable: that’s exactly what Loki was. And honestly, trying to come up with the most unpredictable thing he could do right now was a crap shoot. Steve leaned his back against the wall. There were too many variables, here.

“What we could do,” he said. “Is, you could follow the other trail, while I stay here. Atleast then, we could cover more ground.”

“We could, but you cannot sense him. And I’m not particularly keen on leaving you to deal with him alone.”

“Hey, I held up pretty good against him the first time we fought.”

“Well, an honest fight, perhaps,” Thor backtracked. “However Loki does not fight honestly.”

Well, that was a good point, if there ever was one.

Steve reached down to make sure the gun was still holstered. Something he’d been doing ever since they got there. After all, an invisible entity could try to slip it off of him without his knowledge. And being unable to carry his excessively obvious shield made him feel like he didn’t know what to do with his hands. But the gun should be enough.  _ Should _ . A high caliber, special made through S.H.I.E.L.D. sort of thing. Just for instances like this. He would be fine. More than fine.

“A lot of people we fight don’t go about it fairly,” Steve said. “It may be a bit harder for me to track him down without you here, but I can manage. If he’s here, I’ll stumble into him at some point.”

Thor didn’t speak immediately. He glanced around their environment before sighing deeply.

“Allright,” he finally answered. “I suppose that is what we must do.”

He started to go back to where they came from. But before he left, he added, “Be wary of everyone, Captain. He may be posing as another. Keep your eyes open and watch your back at all times.”

“I know. And I will.”

Thor gave him a small smile of encouragement. And soon, he was gone. Only a few minutes went by before Steve truly began to realize how alone he was.

He faced the gaping, white hall, took a deep breath, and marched on.

The lights overhead buzzed ominously, only joined by the clacking of shoes to tile. He made a mental checklist of what to do. Where to go. Since he couldn’t track him like Thor, he’d have to do a more thorough search. The door at the end would be a good start. Otherwise, he looked for abnormalities. Was that an extra shadow on the wall? Was there a second set of footsteps or just his own echoing in this chamber? Hopefully nothing but his mind playing tricks on him, because every time he turned around, there was nothing there.

He got to the door, soon enough, which lead to a flight of stairs. One way going to the basement. The other, going to the upper levels. Where to look first, though. That was the question.

“Hey, Natasha,” he said quietly, while pressing the earpiece.

“Yeah?”

“I’m not sure how much it will help, considering the nature of who we’re up against. But do you think you could pull up any security footage here? Help me out a bit.”

“Sure. What about Thor?”

“Went to follow the other trail.”

“Right. Hang on, let me work some magic, here.”

“Thanks.”

In the meantime, he decided to start toward the basement. Seemed an obvious choice for someone who was hiding. He peeked under the staircase and listened out for anything suspicious. Didn’t look like anyone was there. Once out into the hall, he passed the night watchman. They nodded a hello to each other. Meanwhile, Steve tried to discreetly study him a bit as he passed. But they never taught them how to tell the difference between a shapeshifter and the real thing. Not like it was a class elective.

He really hoped that Thor was having better luck than he was.

Well, the guard wasn’t doing anything to raise any red flags. He went to the elevators and that was the end of it. Leaving Steve to his work. One thing he noticed about the basement was how much lower and cramped the ceilings were. But the hall was lined on each side by massive, heavy doors. Complete with the hum of machinery behind each one. To be quite honest, the look, the feel, the atmosphere...it was more like a hospital than a power company. The vast field of solar panels outside was the only thing reminding him of it. Steve eased over to the first door he came to. Locked. And it wasn’t the only one. Natasha hadn’t called him back either, so he was at a bit of a loss here. No other guards or night workers were out. In fact, he was getting a bad vibe from this place. He couldn’t explain why if you asked, but every step he took made the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight. He would much rather be back upstairs.

But then, his eye caught something.

There wasn’t anything strange about the light shining under this particular door. No, it was the bottom of the frame. Barely above the floor was a rust colored stain. As Steve stepped forward, it became recognizable. He’d seen enough carnage in his life to know blood, when he saw it. His hand went toward the handle of the gun. He eased back enough from the door to whisper into the earpiece.

“Natasha, I think I might have found something. I’m about to go investigate. Please standby.”

“Okay. Roger that.”

Steve nodded once. He went back with a deep breath and knocked on the door.

The sound echoed all around him. He waited. And waited. And the door was eased open by a short man. Barely cracking it on the hinges enough to see who was there.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“Yes,” Steve flashed the badge given to him by Natasha. “I am working for S.H.I.E.L.D. as one of the agents assigned to Ms. Adessi. There’s a new terrorist threat and the city has been placed back on high alert. We’re doing a quick sweep of the building to make sure everything checks out.”

Even though the small opening, the man looked unsettled at that news. Jarring as it could be.  He peered over his shoulder once before submitting to Steve’s kind and professional demands.

“Sure. Come in.”

Steve stepped into the room and found himself a little surprised. Was this a nurse’s office? That’s certainly what it looked like. It was all beige and clinical with dark, multi colored carpet (he looked and there were a few more splotches of blood; tiny pinpricks, but there all the same). There were a few chairs lining the wall and a little room with a large window off to the side. With the door ajar, he could catch a glimpse inside. A bed and...a machine that hovered over it. Someone briefly went passed the door, all draped in a white lab coat and a tablet in hand. Research of some sort was the first thing that came to Steve’s mind. But his mind was acting subconsciously and making his skin prickle in reply.

“This is interesting,” Steve said. “What is this place? A nurse’s station?”

“Sort of like that,” the short man said. “There’s a lot of heavy equipment here. All kinds of things you can get into. We treat minor work related issues here and small bouts of sicknesses. Say, someone gets an upset stomach while they’re at work, or something like that.” 

“I see,” Steve started toward the room. “Do you mind if I take a look?”

“Eh, I don’t know why you would need to. I’m pretty sure if a terrorist was in there, we would know.”

He chuckled. Steve took in the anxiety on his face.

“I’m sure you understand this is an emergency,” Steve said. “The Fantasmi can’t always be seen.”

“What’s going on?” the person that had been in the side room stepped out. He took one look at the other worker, then turned to Steve. “May I ask who you are?”

“I am a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. We’re doing an emergency search of the building, as I was just telling your co-worker.

“At this time of the night?” he asked in his English accent. “Ms. Adessi isn’t even here.”

“Regardless of that, the threat seems to be more prominent here, at the moment.”

The man shook his head. “Can’t feel safe anywhere, these days.”

“We’re doing our best to resolve the situation, I assure you. But with the nature of things, we have to be as thorough with our search as possible. I would feel much better if I could look take a look in all rooms down here.”

There was a glance between the two that Steve would have missed if he’d blinked.

“It’s no problem. You can look anywhere that you need to.”

“Thank you,” Steve followed him.

“I’m Andrew Jameson, by the way. That is my assistant, Joel Manning.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”

Andrew opened the door completely. When Steve stepped in, he had a full view of the set up. The machinery was a lot more intimidating than he’d first thought. The chair was basically a slab, covered by wax paper. And it sat right underneath the gaping mouth of the monster. An arch of tubing would go over the ‘patient’ and was connected to two hulking blocks on either side. Around it was the usual. Heart rate monitor. IV. The works. All of it a lot more robust and advanced than any nurse’s office he’d ever seen. Even so, he didn’t recognize what the machine could possibly be. He hadn’t quite seen anything like it, before.

“That’s pretty impressive,” Steve said as he went over the room.

“It is. It’s brand new. We’re working on an...all in one sort of machine. CT scan, life support, etc.”

“In a power company?”

“Well, that’s not all we do. We take lots of research opportunities. Offering power is just the main course. What brings in most of our funds.”

“Huh.”

“We’re just trying to do our best to make the world a better place,” Andrew smiled. “I think that might be why Ms. Adessi is such a target for these people.”

“Could be,” Steve peered into the closet. Empty. It was easy to feel the two pairs of eyes on him, waiting for his leave “So, you must do all of your testing in here, right?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well,” Steve noticed the strain in his voice, despite his attempt to sound friendly. “I just noticed something that looked like blood on the door frame out there.”

It got quiet. Steve had to turn around to make sure they were still there.

“Are you sure its blood?” Joel asked.

“Pretty sure.”

Andrew was the first one on the case. He was already at the outer door, before Steve and Joel could even leave the room.

“I don’t know,” he said. “It looks like mud to me. Blood wouldn’t make any sense. Where would it have come from?”

Steve narrowed his eyes. “Yeah. Maybe I was wrong.”

Andrew gave him a tight smile, before opening the door. “An honest mistake, really. I know you all must be trained to look for every detail. So are you finished here?”

“Um, yeah. Everything looks clear.”

“Good, good. I hope this mess gets sorted out, soon.”

“I hope so, too.”

The door was shut rather fast behind him. Still he felt some relief out in the hall, away from that suffocating room. The stairwell, even more so. Just to put in some  _ distance _ from whatever the hell they had going on down there.

“I’m back on,” he pressed the earpiece.

“Allright,” Natasha said. “We have access to the security cameras, but there’s no sign of Loki. Not that that means anything. Did you atleast find something?”

“Nothing Loki related, but I did find something suspicious. If I’m going to be honest, there might be more to this than we original thought.”

 

oooooooooooooooooooo

 

Bruce was starting to regret not having had a cup (or few) of coffee, when he remembered just how many hours he’d been up. Really, it was facing this long car ride that put his lack of sleep into perspective. There was nothing quite like the lull of a drive that could knock someone out, whether they liked it or not. Worse, though, that the  Other Guy was just under the surface. And Bruce knew he would be happy to take advantage of the situation. Sleepy plus agitated was not a good mix. Especially not for him.

He turned the radio up. Some top 40s pop station to get his eyelids a little less heavy. Then, he glanced at the address again, trying to make sense of the numbers and houses on this road. Every so often he would catch something out of the corner of his eye. Nothing but shadows, yet the Other Guy would wake up again to sit at the back of his brain.

“Look, I know you want to teach these people a lesson about kidnapping,” Bruce muttered. “But we have to wait for that, okay?”

The Hulk wasn’t one for listening very well. As jumpy as Natasha said Mia was, the last thing she needed was a front row seat to a big, green monster in her front yard. Bruce tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

“Please, just be good,” he turned the car into the driveway on the right. One minute to pause for a few deep breaths…

Bruce stepped out of the car and made his way to the front door. When he knocked, it was answered by Mia’s bodyguard. An unsuspecting man who happened to have a gun in his other hand. The Other Guy reared his ugly head. Bruce sighed. He needed a valium, after this.

“Dr. Banner?” the bodyguard said.

“Hi,” Bruce waved with a near pained smile on his face. “How are you?”

“I’m well, considering. Please come in.”

Bruce quickly entered. The door was shut as soon as his foot hit the floor.

“Ms. Adessi is getting her things. She will be down in a minute. You’re welcome to sit.”

“Thank you, but I’m fine,” Bruce answered.

“I’m guessing things are getting a lot worse, huh? What happened to make Ms. Romanoff want us at the safe house?”

“Um. Well, two undercovers found a suspicious trail leading to Ms. Adessi’s headquarters. It’s kind of under wraps, but they’re looking into it. More of a ‘better safe than sorry’ sort of situation.”

“Roberto?” a female voice came from the top of the stairs. “Is he here?”

“Yes. Are you ready?”

“Sure,” she struggled down with piles of bags hanging everywhere from her tiny frame. Roberto went over to grab a few, himself, despite her protests.

“Hello, Ms. Adessi,” Bruce gave her a sleepy smile.

“Hello to you, too,” she didn’t return the smile, but reached out to shake his hand.

“Here,” Roberto said. “Let’s get everything to the car. We need to hurry.”

He lead the way outside. Mia turned off the downstairs lights, then locked the door as soon as Bruce followed her out.

“You’ll have to tell me where to go,” Bruce said, when they were all packed up and in the car.

“I know,” Mia said. “Turn left and go straight down this road. Then take another left.”

The car settled into an awkward silence as Bruce drove to the tune of her directions. Roberto stayed still and steady, never taking an eye off the outside world. Mia, on the other hand, kept her focus inside. Either on her phone or just staring at her hands, which were otherwise folded in her lap. Her silence was the heaviest. She almost seemed angry. But all Bruce knew was that someone was going to have to start talking, if they didn’t want a sleeping driver at the wheel.

“So, how far is this place from here?” he finally asked.

“About half an hour out,” Mia answered. “Mostly in the country. It’s very well hidden.”

“That’s good.”

Silence again. Bruce cleared his throat. “We may have come a bit closer to finding the people who are after you. They’re pretty close by, so we need to be extra careful.”

“Haven’t they been close this entire time?” she muttered, darkly. “I’ve never had to be hauled off to the safe house, before.”

“You’ll have to excuse her,” Roberto said. “She’s been in a bit of a mood all day.”

“I don’t need you to speak for me, Roberto.”

“Then stop being so rude to everyone. We’re all here to help  _ you _ . There’s no need to be angry with us.”

“How am I being rude?”

“Oh, you’re being plenty rude.”

“I said,  _ how _ ? There are people out there who keep trying to kill me. Sorry if I come off a bit frustrated. Especially at two in the morning.”

“And I  _ understand _ you’re frustrated. But you don’t  _ have _ to have that  _ tone _ that you’ve been using  _ all day _ .”

And for the next half hour, they went back and forth. Only taking a break to tell Bruce where to turn. This banter wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind, when he was wanting a distraction. Be careful what you wish for, right? What a fun trip this was turning out to be. His hands were practically shaking by the time they found the house.  _ Two _ valium might be in order.

The property was far off the road with a yard full of trees. Small and unsuspecting. It would be a nice little hideaway, if all of this chaos wasn’t going on around them. Bruce contacted Natasha to let her know that they had gotten there safely. He and Roberto hauled the luggage through the door. This time, Mia didn’t put up any complaints. They all were silent, while they settled in. Bruce wasn’t even going to bother with finding a room for himself. As soon as he got the bags in, he went to the couch and stretched out. The cushions were nice and soft. He was sure to fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

“Dr. Banner?”

Or, maybe not. He cracked an eye open, then sat up. “Yes, Ms. Adessi?”

“I, uh,” she sat down next to him. “I just wanted to apologize for being so short with you, earlier. I really do appreciate what you all are doing for me.”

“It’s okay. Stress can do that to a person.”

“Still, that’s no excuse.”

“Well, it’s a  _ reason _ .”

She chuckled. “I suppose. But, well, there’s kind of something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Oh?” Oh, this sounded like something that would take a minute.  _ Please, I just want to sleep. Can’t this wait ‘til morning? _  “What’s wrong?”

“Well,” she fiddled with the end of her shirt. This may have been a step in the wrong direction. “I figured it would be wrong not to tell you, because it might further complicate things. And you’re a doctor, after all.”

Alarm bells went off at that. “I’m, er, actually more of a Nuclear Physicist than anything. I can help out if it’s nothing too severe, but…”

“I’m pregnant.”

“...Oh. Oh! Pregnant? Really?”

“Yeah. I just took the pregnancy test this morning. I’ve been stressing about it all day. I haven’t even told anyone yet. Well, I have now but, heh, you understand.”

“Yeah, of course.”

“I don’t really want anyone else to know right now, though. I haven’t been to a doctor yet. I mean, that part’s obvious. But with everything going on with the terrorists and the baby’s father and the company. I just, ugh! I don’t know what to do with myself,” she put her head in her hands. “Just having someone around who halfway knows what they’re doing is helpful.”

“Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me. I don’t have anything on hand to really confirm if it’s a false positive or not, though.”

“That’s okay. I’ll go to get everything checked when I’m able to go home. I’m more worried about how stressful everything is right now. I know that’s not good for the baby.”

“Well, that’s definitely something I can help out with. Managing stress is kind of important for the survival of people surrounding me, you know?”

She laughed. “Yes. Definitely,” she stood up. “I’m sorry. It’s so late and I know you must be tired.”

“I’m okay. You can always talk to me, when you need something.”

She smiled again. “Thank you. And you can call me Mia. ‘Ms. Adessi’ is so stuffy.”

“Allright. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Oh, let me get you a few blankets. I can’t have you sleeping uncomfortably.”

“It’s fine, really.” But by that time, she had already gone on a hunt. Oh well. It  _ would _ be more comfortable to have some blankets, he supposed. She brought a folded pile a few seconds after and bid him goodnight. Bruce took the opportunity for some deep breathing. Enough to get the Hulk a bit more subdued. He seemed like he would be okay for the night. But now, a baby to protect on top of everything else?

Well, they could easily deal with it more in the morning. He laid back down, pulling the blankets up. Second time’s a charm?

It wasn’t long before he was asleep, so he guessed it was.

 

oooooooooooooooooooooo

 

As the night (night? morning?) in the timeless zone wore on, Tony was thinking to himself, more than he should. As his mind liked to cannibalize itself, whenever he had nothing to occupy his hands. No matter how he laid down, he couldn’t get comfortable. The throbbing in his gums and jaw was worse than ever, as it buzzed painfully along with his heartbeat. He curled up into the corner, laughing bitterly at how unfair this was.

Loki, on the other hand, was dead to the world, as he usually was. Tony glared at his back. Whatever few nice feelings he had developed toward his room mate had all but vanished. Blame it on the aches and pains. Or rather, blame it on the fact that Tony was consistently worried about one little detail that was the fault of Mr. Terrible Twos, over there.

Had his arc reactor been damaged?  

Tony had been forced out of his sleep, when Loki was messing around with it. It hurt. Really, it  _ hurt _ . Sending a sharp pain through his chest, like the metal had been sitting in the car during those bad summer heatwaves. His breathing or heart didn’t seem to be affected, but that was just from a feeling. Tony looked down at the glowing light in the middle of his chest. He pressed his palm to it. How could he know without going to the doctor if there was a problem fluttering about his chest? There was  _ some _ small comfort in the warmth soaking through his hand. It seemed okay, but he just couldn’t be sure.

_ No thanks to you _ , he thought out to Loki’s sleeping form.  _ Just sleeping away like nothing happened. _

Okay, okay. He did make somewhat of a discovery to aid in a possible escape. But with the sheer exhaustion from just hurting so much, from not getting quite enough to eat or drink; plus knowing Innokenti and co. would have their security tightened to the hundredth degree…

Oh, and the collar on Loki.

Yeah, he supposed their chance of getting out that way was a good five percent or so. Better than zero, atleast.

But, if Loki  _ had _ messed up his arc reactor and he ended up dying a slow and painful death, well, he didn’t mind coming back as a ghost just to blast him with a repulsor beam.

Jeeves made his return after a while. And then it dawned on Tony just how screwed he was. How exactly was he supposed to eat? Did they find some goodness in their hearts enough to give him soup or something? He lifted the lid off of his bowl. No. Still oatmeal. Not the most difficult thing in the world to eat, exactly, but his jaws protested at the thought of putting any work into this.

“Um…” he started. But what for, really? He knew they wouldn’t help him.

“What?” Jeeves said. He dropped Loki’s bowl on the floor, letting the clatter scare him awake.

“I…” wow, talking now was even worse than before. “I...can’t really...eat this.”

“Is that so? Well, I guess you’re out of luck today, Mr. Stark.”

He left.

Tony took as deep of a breath as he could. Maybe if he stared at the door long enough, Steve or Rhodey would come barging in, yelling at him for scaring them so much. Maybe throw in a hug or two. Then he would laugh and weep tears of joy. Going home. Going home. Hell, getting some  _ Advil _ on the plane ride back was enough to make him misty with hope.

On the other end, Loki huffed and forced himself to sit up. It broke Tony out of his daydream long enough for the heaviness in his chest to settle. No Steve. No Rhodey. No, just this little grease goblin to keep him company.

“Morning, Sleepyhead,” Tony mumbled.

Loki nodded, without losing his focus on getting to his food bowl.

“Did you...have a good rest?”

Loki grimaced through dark lidded eyes.  _ No, I did not _ , he seemed to say.

“What? ...no talking?”

He smirked in Tony’s direction. Then, he opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out. It was covered in blisters. Tony winced.

“Sorry.”

Loki shrugged. He lifted the lid of his food bowl and examined the contents.

“I... _ ow _ ...I didn’t sleep too well.”

Loki pointed at Tony’s face.

“Yeah. How’d you...guess?”

Another shrug. He didn’t seem to want to play games, at the moment.

“My mouth...and other things.”

A quirk of the brow.

“I don’t want you touching this…” Tony touched the arc reactor with his finger. “I know that collar is...is keeping you from...but yeah, just want to make it  _ clear _ .”

Now his attention was caught. Loki looked at the glowing circle and a smile crossed his lips.

“I’m serious.”

The prince put his hands up in mock surrender. That smile, yeah, that wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Tony was beginning to think he would never get a proper night’s sleep, again.

But nothing could come between an Asgardian and his food, as Tony learned from spending time with Thor. Loki’s attention went back to his bowl, because teasing and trickery weren’t as important as filling up that never ending belly of his. 

But that didn’t mean Loki wasn’t having just as many issues as Tony was in that department. Despite his stomach feeling bad (as per usual), it still cramped up with hunger.

Now, how was he going to go about this?

He cautiously scooped the food with his fingers. Cocking his head one way. Then, the other. He barely scraped the potato with his teeth. Working it around his tongue was difficult enough without the roof of his mouth being equally inflamed. He just had to be careful. Careful, careful, careful. 

Not careful enough, apparently. Some of the potato bits rolled over on his tongue. Right in the center where it was damaged the most. Loki jolted and spit it out. Forgoing all dignity. Okay, this was going to be a little harder than he thought. Maybe Tony had a better handle on it?

No. He was sitting there, staring into space. Not even going to try, apparently. Okay, he could get it. He was hungry enough to. Asgardians (no, Jotuns) required a massive calorie intake compared to these little humans. What might have passed for Tony just wouldn't do for him. Earth food was severely lacking in what he needed to survive. His stomach was burning at this point.

He scraped the food with his teeth again. Smaller bites. This time, it was a chunk of beef. He chewed slowly. Thoughtfully, like when they ate fish in the palace. Well,  _ he _ did, anyway. Thor was always going on and on about something until he swallowed a bone the wrong way and Loki was almost always the one patting his back so he wouldn’t die. That fool. He would never learn, would he? As of now, though, Loki was able to get that piece down. He tried to ignore the heavy beating of his heart, expecting their caretaker to come back at any moment to take their food away. So he took a bigger bite.

Bad idea. It was just a little crumb too, that attached itself to a blister. For all he knew, the coal could have been sitting there again. He tried spitting, but it was stuck. Fuck it. He had to pick it out. By the time it was gone, his eyes were watering like mad.

So. This is how it was going to be. Taking away his ability to eat as punishment? His nostrils flared. He bared his teeth. The food bowl clanged hard against the metal bars, from where he had thrown it. Its contents spilled everywhere. But he didn’t care. He wasn’t  _ going _ to care.

The sudden noise startled Tony out of his stupor. He blinked at Loki and was given a fiery look in return. Being cordial was out of the question for his current mood. 

“Damn,” Tony said. “A little dramatic, huh?”

Loki rolled his eyes. Wasn’t it more dramatic for those idiots to decide to starve them? Tony rolled his eyes back. Loki quirked an eyebrow at him. 

Then, Tony got an idea. Well, it probably wasn’t a great idea. Most of Loki’s food had gone outside of the cage, but some was still laying on their side. Tony’s stomach growled. It was stupid, really. How could he chew it? But maybe he could find a way to save some for later? It was certainly cold enough, he thought with a huff. A walk in fridge, if there ever was one. Only, he didn’t get the chance to execute his plan, since Jeeves decided to come back at that moment. He took one look at the mess and growled in Loki’s direction. Loki straightened up. With arms crossed, he just sat there, daring him to say something.

“You just don’t know how to behave, do you?” he grouched, taking Tony’s bowl.

No. Why should he behave?

Jeeves took Loki’s empty bowl, scowling at him the whole time.

“I’m not getting that up.”

Loki shrugged. So?

Jeeves shook his head and left. Nothing bad had happened. Apparently Loki won that round.

Well, there was the remaining mess, but what was so bad about that, compared to the usual occurrence?

Loki won.

Huh.

Come to think of it, that had never happened before.

He heard a noise from his right, making him spin around. Oh, it was just Tony. All right, he wasn’t about to start becoming jumpy because these people  _ might _ attack him for throwing a tantrum.

“Easy, Reindeer Games,” Tony mumbled. He was trying to pull himself to his feet, while holding his hand against his puffy jaw. “Looks like I’m not...ugh...the only one who’s anxious.”

Loki rolled his eyes, again. But he held his gaze on Tony. Now, where did he think he was going?

The food. Ha, he thought he would be able to eat that when he couldn’t even swallow the mush they would bring him. Those little left over morsels. That were way too close to him.

Panic rose in his chest. Loki started scooting further into his corner. He shook his head, hoping Tony would get the message. He didn’t even notice. Loki sucked in a breath, reaching up to grasp the collar. It didn’t do anything yet, but that wasn’t about to last long.

He made a muffled grunt. That got Tony’s attention. Now, Loki shook his head again, with his hand held out to tell him to ‘stop’.

“...so,” Tony said. “That  _ is _ what’s keeping you from me.”

Loki nodded, trying to shoo him away with his hand.

“That’s still too close?” Tony pointed at the potato chunk on the floor.

Loki nodded even more dramatically.

Tony groaned. It wasn’t  _ that _ close. Well, wasn’t that great? Here he thought he had found a way to work the system. Now all he had was another roadblock. Great. Just great. He shuffled back to his corner, trying to ignore the dizziness from standing, and slumped back into the floor. Loki’s face looked nothing less than relieved.

Why was it every time Tony was annoyed with the bastard, he found a way to make him feel sorry for him?

He let out a pained breath. Not like he could eat it anyway, he guessed. Besides, eating off the floor might increase the chance of him getting an infection.

Loki watched him through narrowed eyes. Then, he pursed his lips, looking back at the food. Ah, what could it hurt? He grabbed one of the potatoes. It would be easier to chew than the meat. He coughed to get Tony’s attention, then tossed it to his side, best he could. Tony eyed the potato. Then lifted an eyebrow at Loki.

“Um, thanks,” he grabbed it and took a pinch off with his teeth. It wasn’t as good as he’d been imagining, but it was five star compared to what he’d been getting. It took a bit of work, of holding his head just so, but he could swallow without causing much of an issue.

Loki smiled at him. Not the same creepy smile he’d been giving him lately. An actual sweet smile.

“You know, I can’t figure you out. At all.”

All that did was make Loki’s smile bigger.

“You love that, don’t you?”

Loki nodded. Yes. He did.

“Well, keep that stuff coming and we might be able to get along.”


	9. Overheated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is so late. I kept forgetting to post it D:

It was getting harder to lay low now that the sky was getting some light to it. Too many people were starting to emerge from their homes to start the morning. But Thor had been spending a lot of time sneaking about, staying hidden. He kept his head down and hunched his shoulders. Without his light hair and glorious beard, no one was any the wiser to who he was. Steve had caught him up to speed on his findings at Adessi. Unfortunately, the suspicious basement dwellers were the only thing he found there. Leaving Thor to follow this track like his hunting dogs back home.

There was a problem, though. What was he supposed to do when he found Loki? Two years and he had come up with and left behind several plans. Revisiting them. Revising them. And now that Loki was here in Midgard, no doubt causing trouble again, it complicated everything further. Before, he thought he could find him refuge with someone in another realm. Call it a diplomatic favor. Possibly have Loki fake his death while only the two of them knew the truth. Before all of this, he was happy to leave Loki in his prison cell. He visited him once. The day of his sentencing. But there was so much hurt, so much  _ anger. _ His intentions had been to get to the bottom of this mess, since Loki decided to play silent when faced with Odin or the guards. Intentions meant nothing, when the dam broke and the two of them yelled and cried and Thor began to think of him as no less dead than he believed when he had fallen. Still he had no idea where he had gone. Still he had no idea who he was working for, when attempting that assault on New York.

And yet, with everything that had happened, he was not going to stand there and let him be executed. He would not. He hoped that this time Loki might take things a bit more  _ seriously _ and listen to reason. No doubt the humans would go after his head after taking Tony and letting those monsters torture him. Thor clenched and unclenched his fist. 

A drop of water fell on his nose. He wiped it off in annoyance and looked up. For the most part it was looking to be a sunny day. Except for that cloud hovering right over the immediate area. Thor squinted. It was small but dark and angry. The signature was starting to go all over the place. Thor laughed.  _ Oh Brother, surely you are not mocking me by making up a storm? _

But that didn’t make sense. Loki couldn’t make storms. So, what the hell was the game, here?

“Captain,” he said into the earpiece.

“Yeah?”

“Do you see this storm coming in?”

“Um...yeah. Yeah. Is that you?”

“No,” Thor gritted his teeth and quickened his pace. “It is not.”

“What’s going on? Where are you?”

“Uh,” he looked around. “Deeper into the city, though I couldn’t tell you where, exactly.”

Thunder rumbled above him. Something was off about it. The air, the sound, and his temper was starting to rise. To be so blatantly disrespectful of the fact that  _ he _ was the god of thunder...The people around him looked up at the sky, concerned at the sudden change in weather. The wind picked up and they began to look for shelter, hunched over and trying not to get wet. Thor tried to concentrate. He couldn’t tell where the strongest area was, but was swarmed with the feeling of magic, now. His eyes sped over the people. Looking for anything suspicious or familiar.

_ Damn, you. Where do you think you’re hiding? _

The rain would pound the pavement for a few seconds, then break. Splotches of sunlight would hit the ground. Then, the storm would piece back together. The wind gusts blew in his face every couple of steps. He couldn’t see properly. But he was close. Oh was he close.

With his fast pace, he wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings. He bumped into something and took a tumble on the sidewalk. Only...nothing was there. He had been walking through a clear spot, so how would he…?

“Sir, are you all right?” a young woman approached him.

He blinked. Thor slowly pulled himself up. Never taking his eyes off of the empty road.

“Yes,” he said to the woman. “Yes. Yes, I’m fine.”

The buzz in the air was now unwavering, coming right from that spot.

Like it was waiting for him.

“Are you sure? That was a pretty nasty fall.”

“Stay back,” Thor put his hand up, so she wouldn't come any closer. She promptly froze.

Then, he lunged forward with all his might. Whatever invisible force stood there fell under his weight. The cloak fell and there they appeared on the ground. The woman gasped, her hand flying over her mouth.

“You have to go!” Thor yelled out. The man in his grasp tried to fight back, then received a punch in the jaw. The woman got the message and ran.

“Alright,  _ you _ ,” Thor growled. This person didn't look a thing like Loki, but what did it matter? “Shapeshifting, Brother?”

He was met with a blank face and nothing more.

“So, you’re not going to change back? Atleast defend yourself and tell me what you did with Stark!”

His eyebrows knitted together. Thor huffed in frustration and yanked him to his feet by the arm. He didn’t fight back, that time. And a small crowd was starting to eyeball them, by now. Some mutterings of the Fantasmi, from those who saw this man appear from thin air.

“Let’s go,” Thor reached for his earpiece. “Captain?”

“Yeah? Got something?”

“I do,” Thor glanced at the man, who was starting to look more worried than anything. Worried and frail and...not a lot like Loki at all. “I believe we have our first suspect.”

 

ooooooooooooooooooo

 

There was a difference in the cage that day.

Tony noticed it immediately. Almost didn’t believe it at first, but he didn’t think he was going crazy quite yet. Warmth. It spread over him, melted into his bones. Having been cold for so long, it was easy to forgot what it was like to feel warm. He leaned his head back against the wall, reveling in it.

It felt so good.

“Did we do something right for a change?” he wondered aloud. He could almost ignore the ache in his face, he was so happy.

Loki looked around, surprised at the change. It was pleasant, yes. Tony rubbed his bare arms, trying to encourage every iota of heat to enter his skin. He glanced over at Loki’s side of the cage, noting that he wasn’t wrapped in the blanket anymore. Though he still clutched a corner of it in his hand with a troubled look on his face. Tony knew exactly why it was there. First, Loki barely got a scolding from the mess he’d made. Now, they were being rewarded?

But Tony pushed those thoughts away. Even if this only lasted for a few minutes. Even if it was an accident or them being manipulated, somehow. He needed this. So, all of those negative thoughts? They needed to be gone.

And they were.

For a little while.

  
Then it started to get hotter. Or, it felt like it, anyway. Could’ve been the same temperature for too long. Now, he was starting to sweat. So much so that he had to take his shirt off. And if he thought he felt sick and achy before, it was nothing compared to now. Little black dots started dancing at the corners of his eyes.

Loki had turned to lying flat on his back with his shirt rolled up to his chest. His usually pale skin was turning pink. Oh, he knew, he  _ knew _ they would pull something like this. To make matters worse, the food he had thrown across the room? Yeah, that was starting to smell. Badly. He chuckled to himself. They were just  _ evil _ , huh?

At this point, his breathing was starting to shallow and he could feel his heart pounding behind his eyes. It was a question if he would make it out of this alive. Another slight to him, no thanks to his biology. He cursed being a Jotun. He cursed all their weaknesses, the damn beasts they were. Even a human could suffer heat better than he could.

Tony groaned from his corner.

Or, maybe they couldn’t.

“Loki,” he said. “Do me...a favor? Apologize to these idiots.”

Loki’s head snapped up. Do _ what _ now?

“Maybe it’ll help! I don’t know!”

Loki just stared at him, incredulous.  _ I am so disappointed in you, Stark. _

“Can’t you do  _ something? _ ” Tony rolled onto his stomach and laid his head on his hands. “I don’t feel so good…”

Loki scoffed. Oh, Midgardians were so...soft. He tried to speak, but Tony wasn’t quite sure what he said. The word was so slurred and garbled. Then the gears in his brains started clicking and he thought he figured it out…

“Did you just call me  _ weak _ ? The human... _ ow _ ...the human body can only deal with so much heat. And now I’m weak because of it?”

Loki shook his head. This break in communication was becoming a problem. He didn’t find Tony weak for getting sick. He found him weak for wanting to just give into them.

“Are you saying that you didn’t call me weak?”

Loki groaned and shook his head again.

“Then why...did you say you didn’t?”

Loki rolled his eyes and waved his hand. This was too bothersome to continue. Tony sighed, pressing his palm against his forehead. Apparently, he thought so, too. 

Tony had had enough of feeling sub par. Dizziness. Nauseated. And now his head was pounding even more. That stupid food was starting to spoil and wasn't helping matters any. Maybe if he laid on his back like Loki was, it would ease up a bit. However, there was no coolness left on the concrete. Tony brushed his hand through his damp hair. Take a few deep breaths, that might make things better. He knew the symptoms of heat exhaustion and that’s what he was dealing with, now. Next step was a heat stroke and that’s something he definitely didn’t want. He sure didn't trust them with handling that properly.

He just wanted some water. Water, soda,  _ something _ .

_ Just breathe, Tony. Just breathe. You’ve gotten through worse _ .

He clamped his mouth shut, trying to concentrate on not throwing up. The pain in his gums had already made that harder than it needed to be. Having to swallow down all that blood...ugh, he didn’t want to think about it. No, no. Don’t think about, don’t think about it, don’t think about it.

Tony squeezed his eyes closed. His head was swimming by this point and he was afraid to move.

“Loki?” he groaned. As if Loki could do anything, lethargic as he was.

“Hm,” his face was scrunched and he didn’t seem intent on moving, either.

Well, it was too late, anyway. He threw up. All that blood and bile and any minuscule bit of food that happened to be in there. And when he had nothing more to give, he dry heaved, until he was a whimpering mess. If he thought the empty sockets in his mouth hurt  _ before _ …

Loki, just looked exasperated. Why did Tony have to turn in  _ his _ direction to do that? Now they were going to have to live with that for who knows how long? And with the heat, too? Loki was beginning to think he might be the next one to throw up.

Tony had barely enough energy to hold himself up through this ordeal, before plopping back down. The room was spinning. Between this and sweating so much, he had to be dehydrated.

In his daze, Tony thought he heard the door screech open. Footsteps, then the clang of the cage door. Someone muttered a few curses above him. Then he was lifted and taken away.


	10. Air

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, again. I ran low on buffer chapters and work has been awful, lately. 
> 
> I'd also like to thank you all for your comments and kudos <3 I promise I'll reply to them all. Didn't want you to think I was ignoring you or anything ^^;

The Avengers surrounded their captive, who was stock still and handcuffed in the middle of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s satellite base. Bound to the chair. Bound to the room, surrounded by fortified glass. With all of their newfound technology, he wouldn’t be escaping, any time soon. One could count on it. Yet, no one was very keen on letting him spend a moment out of their eyesight, either.

“So,” Steve started. “We finally have one.”

“Too bad he seems like the quiet type,” Clint fiddled with an arrow and kept the suspect in his steel-like gaze.

"You attack innocent people, helped kidnap our friend, play with powers that you have no right to use, yet you still have nothing to say?" Thor growled at him.

Their suspect looked rather bored. A bit too bored for someone who’d just awakened Thor’s temper.

“You would do well to do as you’re told. We have no time for this nonsense! Who has taught you to use such power? I want names!”

The prisoner blinked in his direction. Not quite all the way there, but still stubbornly silent. He set his jaw and refused to speak on the matter.

Thor huffed and began to pace.

"It's possible that he's been brainwashed," Steve suggested. "After being in a place like that, especially."

Thor ran a hand through his hair. "I can still sense Loki's magic. It's all over him."

The other three glanced at each other.

" _ Is _ he Loki?" Steve asked.

"He better hope he's not," Clint raised his bow.

"We need him to find Tony," Natasha put her hand on the bow. "Remember?"

"You guys already took fingerprints, eye scans and everything, right?" Clint asked.

"Inconclusive," Steve said. "He's not in our database."

"But, with Loki's shapeshifting abilities, such things will not be of much help," Thor said.

"Well, isn't that just peachy," Clint muttered.

"You're the one who knows him best," Natasha said. "Is there anything that lets you know whether it's actually him or not?”

Thor studied his subject for a moment, then shook his head. Things could never quite be  _ that _ easy.

"Guys," she said. "I think you should go into the other room. Maybe see if you can think of anything else.”

Clint nodded.

"But why must we leave?" Thor asked.

"Just come on, you two," Clint lead the others away. "Let Tasha do her work."

Thor looked like he wanted to argue further for his stay, but did as he was asked.

As they left, the prisoner stared Natasha down. She was unwavering, with her arms crossed over her chest.

"You are really impressive, being able to learn enough magic to do what you did,” she continued. “If you're not Loki, anyway.”

He blinked.

"You've really pissed off Thor, though. Which is never a good idea.”

Now, it was her turn to pace.

"I used to work for Innokenti, too.”

He raised both eyebrows.

"Don't play dumb with me. I know who you work for. I just want to know how you learned all this. And where Tony is.”

She leaned down in front of him, becoming eye level.

"We could let you go, you know. If you give us what we want."

He smiled and shook his head.

“What? They gave me a job here and I was at the top of their most wanted list. They could let you out. Give you a new name. New home. If you’re likely to reform, that is. Or acting against your will…”

She paused. There was a flicker in his eyes. And she continued.

"That deal would include protection, too.”

He just simply shook his head again.

"Well, I mean, it’s ultimately up to you. If you don't tell us anything, we will have you incarcerated. I would hate to do that to someone if they're a victim.”

She walked away from him, without gauging his reaction.

"I'll bring you some food, in a moment. You can make your decision when I come back.”

His eyes brightened at the mention of food. But when Natasha eventually brought it to him, it was ignored. And after some time, Natasha sat it on a table nearby. Let him say no. That was important to building trust.

They would be there for awhile. Nothing she hadn’t done, before.

 

ooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Opening his eyes was a slow and miserable go. How could it not be, with all the damn bright lights in that building? Tony’s arms ached. Arms and legs. Head and stomach.

He tried to sit up, pinching the bridge of his nose. Migraine of the century, this was.

“You sure do seem to be intent on causing us a lot of trouble, Mr. Stark.”

Tony turned at the sound of Innokenti’s voice. He stood stock still at the door across the room. A normal looking door. So, he was out of the cage, huh? The bed underneath him creaked when he shifted his weight, wondering if he should try to make a run for it.

“Here,” Innokenti leaned over to grab a glass of water from the side table. “Drink this.”

Tony frowned. Regardless, he took the glass. Examining its contents.

"You don't have to worry about it. It's clean. After all, we can't have you dying on us, can we?"

Tony’s frown only grew deeper.

"You know, I'm trying to be nice to you,” Innokenti chuckled. “I know you must be thirsty."

He moved to sit down on the edge of the bed. Tony immediately moved back, finding the headboard closer than he would have liked. Why was everything tiny in there?

"What? Do you think I'll bite?"

Tony ignored him, taking a slow sip of water. It didn't taste offensive.

"Drink all of it."

"Will you give me a minute?" Tony mumbled. His voice painfully raspy. He took another slow sip. "Where’s Loki?"

"Same place as usual."

Tony nodded, continuing to drink his water. He wondered if they'd turned the heat off or if they’d left Loki to die from overexposure to it.

"He is a bit of a complication, that one,” Innokenti continued. “He's hard to break, especially since we're not allowed to hurt him too much. He won't be very useful to us if he's dead."

Tony squinted. "Like me?"

"Yes. A lot like you, in fact. Though, it does allow me to have more fun with him. There are many things you can do to a man to make him want to die, without doing the killing yourself."

A shiver went down Tony’s spine.

"I know his deepest fears," Innokenti smiled cheerfully. He looked like a kid that was describing his favorite toy. "I've made him scream, I've nearly made him cry. I've even heard him call out for his brother once."

Tony tried to inch farther away from him. But that didn't stop him from getting even further into his personal space. A smile on his face. A hand on his knee. Tony’s limbs tensed up, as well as his grip on the cup.

"I know you know of him trying to starve himself to death. That was all because of me."

He grabbed Tony's chin. 

“Want to hear what I did to him?”

“Let go of me.”

“Oh, calm down. Didn’t I say I wasn’t going to kill you?”

Tony’s heart rammed hard in his chest. Innokenti looked too  _ gleeful _ . What was he going to do? What was he going to  _ do _ ?

“I’m sure it would just  _ destroy _ him to let you know everything I did. The fact that I tore him apart and put him back together.”

“Don’t touch me.”

“I think the most fun part is that while you may have...a little hope, he doesn’t. There’s nowhere he can go, nowhere he can hide. But, that doesn’t mean I won’t do whatever else I need to do in order to get what I want,” he pressed his thumb hard against Tony’s lips. “You can be sure of that.”

Glass shattered all over the room from where Tony threw the cup. Missing Innokenti’s head by centimeters. If only he hadn’t moved.

He didn’t seem angry, though. No, he only laughed, while Tony bared his teeth. Almost daring him to try it again, while cowering in the corner.  

"I'll bring you some more water in a minute. Since I’ve seemed to...upset you, so," Innokenti said.

He walked to the door and left. Tony picked up a piece of broken glass and threw it in his direction.

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Loki let go of another heaving breath, after some effort on his part. His limbs felt loose and limp. But what great relief it was that they turned the heat off. It would take time for the room to settle back where it should be and Loki wasn’t going to complain, now that his skin didn’t prickle from the oppressive air.

But they had taken Tony away. Figures. Take his roommate and leave him to suffer. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. Ignoring the aches and pains from the ordeal (another reason to curse his Jotun heritage) and let his arm flop to the side. The bastards had let the stink from the spoiled food and the contents of Tony’s stomach stick to the air, before they decided to be kind enough to clean the place. What Loki really wanted,  _ needed _ , was the fresh air of outside. How long had it been, really? Since he’d seen blue skies and trees? And run over wild lands untamed by any man? He would never be able to count the days or the hours. But it had been much too long. Much too long.

Maybe if he were good, Innokenti would let him go a few feet past the door. A funny thought, indeed. That bastard would never let him...but could he try, atleast? He’d never really tried.

“No,” he quietly chastised himself. “What is wrong with you?”

_ Weren’t you the one that told Stark not to give into them? Now, look at you. You’re getting weak. _

You can’t do that. Don’t. Just don’t start being weak.

_ My dignity is all I have left _ .

How ridiculous. He laughed, humorlessly. They’d taken that a long time ago.

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Day had turned into night and their prisoner still sat in his chair. Night turned into day and he still wasn’t speaking. A frown was stuck to his face. His food was untouched. It eventually had to be thrown out, much to Natasha’s dismay. She felt it in her heart, in her gut, that this was a man that needed help. If only he would let them.

Though she of all people knew it was never that simple.

Clint watched them through the security footage while he had his breakfast and coffee. Ready to step in, if necessary. Natasha had a handle on it, but considering the nature of this whole ordeal, he couldn’t settle.

"Good morning, Clint," Steve walked through the door.

"Morning," Clint took a sip of coffee.

"Any news?"

"Nope."

Steve didn’t look surprised, but he was disappointed in the news. He sat down at the other side of the table.

"Not going to eat anything?" Clint asked.

"Yeah, in a minute. I'm heading out in a bit."

"For?"

"I need to question Mia about what I found at Adessi. So, I'm going to find the safe house."

"Oh?”

"Want to come?"

"Sure. It's better than sitting around staring at this guy all day. Natasha told me about the blood and stuff. What do you think happened?"

"I don't know. I mean, Loki's magic covered the place, then these guys were acting fishy when I searched the area. I really don't want to believe that Mia's own company has something to do with this."

"Or Mia herself."

"Exactly."

"Did anyone warn Bruce?"

"Yeah, I talked to him when I woke up this morning."

"And Mia?"

"She knows that I want to talk to her."

"Right. Gotcha."

"Where is Thor, by the way? Seemed like he was in a bad mood all yesterday."

"Can you blame him? I think he went out to look for Loki again,” Clint looked back to the screen.

Natasha wasn't there anymore.

"Hey, where did...?"

"Well, I just found out why our friend won't tell us anything."

The two turned around to see her standing at the door.

"They cut out his tongue."

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Tony was barely able to get any rest in his new environment. Despite the bed. Despite the comfortable temperature.

It must have been a few days which he was housed there. He was being re hydrated. A slow process, considering their care wasn’t usually at the top of these people’s priorities. The food was slightly better. He was given  _ antibiotics _ (atleast, he hoped that’s what they were).

Still, he felt uneasy.

Innokenti hadn’t visited him anymore, though Tony was sure he was still watching. He had even wondered if that conversation had taken place at all. Heat and the human brain didn’t make a good mix, after all. He knew that.

He hoped that’s all it was. Though his skin crawling every time the doorknob turned said otherwise.

But he was lucky, now. The only person who ever visited him was a short, but strong looking man who only spoke Russian (but he seemed to understand English enough for basic communication). He always had a gun on his hip, but was considerably better company than the other bastards he’d met. While this gentleman wasn't what one would call nice, he actually took care of him. He was careful of any wounds and made sure Tony drank all of his water and ate all of his food. He helped him into some clean clothes every day. He never gave him any problems.

During this particular visit, he made Tony stand. His legs were wobbly, nearly causing him to fall, but he could get to his feet. And with some help, he could walk. That satisfied The Russian enough and he found himself being lead out into the hall. Tony paused as soon as they passed the threshold. He didn’t like this. Where could they go, besides back to the cage? Or worse...yeah, things could definitely get worse. The Russian pushed him between the shoulder blades. Better get moving.

They passed a few people, who gave them no attention. All of them guards. Tony couldn’t help but wonder just who else was there to be guarded? More people like him? People like...Loki? They couldn’t be the only ones. Not in this gigantic place.

In fact, he’d found himself so lost in thought, he realized he had no idea where they were. When they reached windows and a door. 

And sunlight.

No way. A smile began to slowly form over his face. But wait...this had to be a trap. They wouldn’t just let him go outside. Not without a reason. And he couldn’t think of a  _ good _ reason, either. He couldn’t help but feel anxious, when he took his first step outside the door and onto the grass.

He looked at his helper.  _ What do I do, now? _

A brief thought said he was was about to be executed. Taken out and shot in the head. But Innokenti said they needed him alive…

The Russian motioned for him to go forward, but Tony didn't dare. He wanted to run. To take his freedom by the reins and just run, but surely that wouldn't end well.

"What are you doing?" Tony asked.

What little Russian he knew, he could pick up "go" and "outside".

Well, he figured that much.

"Why?"

He shrugged and pointed to the sun. The sun?

Tony blinked. The gun stayed holstered. The sun...to see the sun? To get some sun?

Maybe that was it. It didn’t make any sense, but Tony couldn’t figure out anything else from this sudden oddity.

He looked up at the sky. It was so bright and blue. They were surrounded by hills of green grass and trees beyond that. It was the middle of nowhere and it was absolutely, unequivocally beautiful. Tony carefully sat down, feeling the grass and dirt underneath his hands. The fresh air was a blessing to him. He took a deep breath, holding it in a moment before letting it out again.

He glanced back to The Russian. He was just standing there, leaning against the wall with a cigarette in his mouth. Fully ignoring Tony. The thought of escape was an itch in his skull, again. Yet one look at the gun was enough to make it disappear. The only thing he would be allowed to do was "get some sun". Somehow, he wasn't angry. Not at him, anyway. Even though he found his break ending when the cigarette was gone.

Everything in him screamed at the sight of the walls and lights, when they went back in. Still, he did as he was told. Once again in his room and given some clothes to change into. The ones that Loki promised he would be given. To look like him and be melded to this place. After that, he was taken back to the cage, obviously deemed well enough to resume his punishment. He had to just stand there at the door, for a minute. All at once hopeful and feeling like his world had collapsed around him. Thinking of the outside world, yet knowing it would be ages until he would see it, again.

Loki, as usual, was still in that corner.

"I didn't think you would be coming back anytime soon," he said. His eyes looked tired. And he wasn’t trying to hide it.

"I didn't think you would be talking anytime soon," Tony answered.

"Well, you didn't expect I would be mute forever, did you? I was afraid they had killed you. They seemed pretty afraid of that as well."

"I wasn't that sick."

"You certainly had us fooled."

"So, you were afraid I had died, hmm?" Tony smirked at him.

"Only because it gets pretty lonely here. I would almost take Thor's company at this point."

Tony lifted an eyebrow.

"Almost. I'm not quite that desperate, yet.”

_ I've even heard him call out for his brother, once. _

Tony winced.

"What?"

"Mm, it’s nothing. Still got a bit of jaw pain, y’know?”

Loki nodded and shrugged it off. Tony wanted to ask if he was okay. From everything. But, he didn’t. No, he knew Loki wouldn’t like it if he started prying.

“Something on your mind, Stark?”

"No. I'm fine. Are you?"

"No. But considering everything, well, I'm still alive, aren't I?"

Yes. That, he could hang onto. He had to.

They were both still alive. And they had to do whatever they could to stay that way.


	11. Blood of the Covenant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. Bet you guys thought I was dead, huh? Well, you'd be almost right...
> 
> Sorry I disappeared. I was honestly trying to get this done. But I still work at an absolute shit job where I KNOW I said I only wanted to be scheduled for four days and yet keep ending up with five cause staying understaffed is obviously a Good Idea to them. I often come home and fall asleep as soon as I eat in front of my laptop. I'm hoping to be out of that shit hole by the end of the month, but who knows?
> 
> But anyway, here's a full chapter of Loki whump to make up for it. I'll try not to be gone as long as I was this time and...the last time.
> 
> Thanks again for the feedback, though. I'll get through it all eventually. Promise.

Anxiety was beginning to eat away at Loki’s nerves.

His insides hadn’t hurt for the first time in days. The electricity burns were practically gone. Nothing but an added scar to his collection. No pain was there to keep him from sleeping. This was his magic replenishing itself. Making his body as good as new.

Which meant they would be coming for him, soon.

He tried not to fidget. Always so aware of that damn camera in the corner. It had gotten so bad at one point, he had to sit on his hands. But that didn’t keep him from worrying his lip raw with his teeth. Even with the magic he had, it wouldn’t be enough to aid in escaping from this hell. His eyes darted toward Tony. Oh, if only they hadn’t trapped him in that collar. If only he could have found out about that blue light in Tony’s chest without getting caught. He was  _ right there _ . Perhaps that was the worst of his tortures: the fact that the one thing he could use to get out of there was out of his reach, even though he could look right at it.

He sighed. Too bad Tony was asleep. Loki would have been glad for the distraction from that chatty bastard.

Well, he supposed he should try and force himself to atleast enjoy what little time of painlessness he had left. Because  _ that _ certainly wasn’t going to last much longer. He knitted together whatever damage was left, thanks to the last week of sessions with those idiots. Mostly the heat exposure. All the while ignoring the parts he couldn’t solve, right then. Taking note and filing the information away to the back of his mind. These were problems he couldn’t solve on his own. An unsolvable problem was best not thought of. Atleast, that’s how he felt about the matter.

So this...this would have to do, for now. And while leaning his head against the wall, he found some unwelcome thoughts of Thor and wondered what he would think if he saw him, now. 

He wrinkled his nose. He really shouldn’t think about that.

Back to the file it goes.

And there they were. Those cheerful bastards opening the door. Ruining what little peace he had found, if one could even call it that. Loki sighed heavily, letting them know how he felt about the situation.

“Come on,” the man Tony had called Jeeves reached over to grab his collar. “Time to get going.”

Loki lowered his head, like a wolf.  _ Like hell, it is. _

“Don’t start that shit. Get up.”

Tony jolted from his sleep at all their noise. Sitting straight up, as soon as he saw someone hovering over them.

“Wha- the hell is going on, now?”

“Nothing you need to worry about, Stark. They’re not taking you,” Loki rolled his eyes. “Atleast, not right now, they’re not.”

“Go back to sleep,” Jeeves said. “Better get your rest while you can.”

Then, he yanked Loki’s collar. Hard. Tony looked genuinely confused for a moment before anger flashed across his face. “Where are you taking him?”

“Since when is that any of your business?” Jeeves snapped a thick chain around Loki’s neck and started pulling him along. By the time Tony found his feet, the cage door had been closed and they were separated by the metal bars he now clutched to.

“I want to know what the hell you’re gonna do to him,” Tony growled. 

“What? Are you two lovers now, or something?” Jeeves sneered. “What does it matter to you?”

Loki blinked in surprise. Tony’s sudden protectiveness of him was certainly a...surprise.

“Uh...like I said. It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

Tony was about to speak again, but stopped himself. His jaw firmly set. What the hell was with him?

“I’ll bring your little friend back in awhile. You can wait,” Jeeves spat over his shoulder. 

He lead (yanked) Loki through the metal door and into the hall, before shutting it behind him. The others were there, already waiting. His escort had arrived, he supposed. One had a piece of cloth that he tied around Loki’s eyes, never wanting him to know how to get out of this place. Each step long practiced over time. Loki knew the drill. And though his hackles were up, he didn’t fight them. No, there was a world of pain waiting for him if he did that. He didn’t even fight when Jeeves yanked his chain again. Nearly making him stumble to the floor.

Loki’s fingers curled into fists. He imagined throwing a punch against the jaws of whoever thought this was funny. But the thought of them zapping him with that collar...his throat constricted at the thought.  _ I have to be calm. I won’t let them get a rise out of me. That’s exactly what they are trying for, here. _

So, he steadied himself and walked.

“Poor thing can barely use his own feet,” one of them laughed.

“Some ‘prince’ he is.”

“Innokenti might as well put him down, at this point.”

“Are you kidding? With all the power he still has? Don’t let the bastard fool you.”

Well, atleast one of them was still wise.

He was tugged along and  _ very  _ focused on where he stepped. Then, the main door screeched open and warmth gently touched his skin. He hurried to take in a deep breath. Grass. Trees. Flowers.  _ Perfect _ . Though soon replaced by leather. Humans. Dust, while he ducked down and crawled over the car seat. Doors shut. Voices murmuring. Innokenti’s from the front seat (it sent an unwelcome shiver down Loki’s spine). Talking business. Engine starting. Weight shifting. And they were soon on their way.

Their trip was far from a quiet one. The men had lively conversations of women and free time; what they would do after work. As if they had typical nine to five jobs. Loki kept his mouth shut, having learned to stay out of the way. He’d certainly done enough of that back at home to be used to it. His own imaginary world was waiting for him. That’s the only decent place he lived, for several long years. 

Yet he could still hear the growing noise outside, of cars and people. Like a script, they had him lie in the floor. That tiny damn space. This is how Loki always knew they were close to their destination.

The car turned down a road, slowing to a crawl. Going over the maze that this place seemingly was, before pulling to a stop.

Loki lifted his head, ready to move toward making his way out of the car. However, he was quickly stopped by some blunt object hitting his shoulder. Despite his current lack of vision, he spun on them. Absolutely seething. That got him another harder blow.

“You will only sit up when we  _ tell you _ to sit up,” one of them said. “And keep that look off of your face.”

Oh, they were sure to make it harder not to make an attempt on their lives. Loki dug his nails into the palms of his hands...and lowered his head. And waited. That’s all they seemed to do anymore. Wait. Wait. Wait. Until they  _ finally _ started leaving the car. One by one and he soon followed, unfolding his arms and legs and creaky joints. Their footsteps went from concrete to tile floors with the jingle jangle of his chain echoing off the walls. Were all Midgardian buildings like that? Bland and hopeless? No wonder they were the way the were. But he  _ was _  glad for the invention of elevators. If he’d had to walk down stairs, well, he knew they’d get a kick out of that.

“Allright,” Jeeves said. “Here we are.”

Loki was pushed ungraciously into a chair in the corner of the room. He knew it well before they tugged his blindfold off. But better than that was the removal of the collar. Where the skin underneath could finally breathe. He didn’t appreciate the sudden brightness from outside, though. The injustice...But once his eyes adjusted, he could see his space. As well as his escort service leaving. He was alone.  _ Finally _ , he was alone. In his plain as dry bread bedroom.

He loved it.

This was their deal. No one ever deviated from it. For one day, they gave him his freedom and left him in the care of others. A trade off, if you will. A trade off of a product. Unfortunately, this came at a cost. And what little peace he craved would only last for a few…

“Good morning!” a cheery young woman came in through the door. All smiles. Pretty ones, too.

Loki’s edges softened a bit, but it just wasn’t in him to smile back. So all she got was a tired, “Good morning,” in return. She wouldn’t be insulted, he knew. Actually, he knew her pretty well, by now. Miss Carboni. His nurse. Young and bright, with dark golden skin and darker curls that touched her shoulders. It had taken her a long time to warm up to him (he  _ was _ a tad infamous for, ah, breaking New York’s downtown area).

But if there was anything that Loki could say about himself, it was that he was pretty damn charming, when he felt like it.

And pathetic and looked like he was on his last leg, but hey. He’d  _ like _ to think she loved his charisma and didn’t pity him for being near tortured to death.

She stood there in front of him, arms crossed and shaking her head in disapproval.

“What?” Loki tiptoed.

“What? Look at you! You get skinnier and skinnier every time I see you! You might as well be melting away. Do they feed you  _ anything _ over there?”

Loki chuckled. “When they feel like it, I guess.”

“That’s not funny. It’s terrible.”

“You think that’s terrible, you should see what else they do to me.”

She put her hand over his forehead. “I can only imagine. Why don’t you lay down, atleast? That would be more comfortable than the chair.”

“I prefer to have a shower before I get into bed. If that’s okay, at any rate.”

“Of course it is. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Eh, well…”

“Come on, then. Get up. Easy, so you don’t fall.”

Loki followed her gentle orders and found his feet. She lead him to the bathroom across the hall. Carefully, with a hand on his arm. He might as well had been an old man in a nursing home. 

Though his longing was down the hall to the exit, the energy bouncing off the walls kept him at her side. Those pulses warning that he better not dare try and escape. The collar was not even close to the hell he would receive from them.

“Here are your clothes,” she grabbed a bundle from the tiny closet. A clean set that match his current outfit of choice. Washcloth and towel included.

“Thank you,” he said. And she left, giving him his privacy.

Loki removed all of his clothes before stepping into the shower. To turn the water on as hot as he could stand it and let it fall over his face. Just to feel its comfort for a little while, before grabbing the soap to wash through his hair. How long, really, had it been since he’d taken his last shower? Or been allowed to, rather? He wrinkled his nose in annoyance. It was embarrassing enough to even think about.  _ Well, atleast I get to feel  _ sort of  _ clean for now. _

When he finished up, all dry now and dressed, he let himself back into his room. There, he found a covered meal and a glass of ice water. A smile touched his lips. What a nice woman Miss Carboni was. Humans, he supposed, weren’t completely hopeless. Atleast, some of them weren’t. He would have to do something nice for her, one day. At the very least, make sure she was somewhere safe when he finally gained the strength to smite the bastards in this place. He settled in his chair to stuff down all of this food. Thinking of the creative ways he could destroy them and Innokenti and his whole lot. Too bad he wasn’t the god of thunder, like Thor was. There was always something awe invoking about destruction by storm.

Well, he had time to figure it out. If there was anything he had plenty of, it was time.

With a belly full of food for the first time in weeks, he crawled into the bed to chase the rare comfortable sleep. Stretching out so his muscles could relax against the mattress and blankets.  _ Oh _ , it felt so  _ good _ . Sex might be nice, but  _ that bed _ was out of this realm. That’s what sleeping on concrete would do to you, he supposed. 

  
  
  
  
  


“Loki.”

He groaned and turned onto his other side.  _ Go away. _

“You have to get up,” Miss Carboni gently shook his shoulder. “They sent me here for you. I can’t really stall anymore.”

Loki could feel a knot form in his stomach.

“Five more minutes?” he mumbled into the pillow.

She chuckled. “It’s been two hours, silly.”

Loki chuckled too, playing it off… ”It doesn’t feel like it.”

“I know, but…” she glanced back toward the door. “Please hurry. They’ll be angry if I don’t get you in there, soon.”

Loki reluctantly (and slowly) sat up, all groggy and grumpy. Briefly, he caught her eyes. Questioning. Was there any way at all he could get out of this?

No. Of course not. If there were, she would have gotten him out long before this.

He obediently followed behind her down the halls, all the while trying to ignore the pounding of his heart in his ears. He glanced at the massive doors. Clenching and unclenching his fingers (he wondered what she would think if he asked to hold her hand? Yeah, wouldn’t  _ that _ be hilarious?). Bad idea, probably. 

She got to the room first and opened the door for him. He quickly ducked into the small waiting room, not bothering to sit in the chairs lined against the outer wall. Besides, his ‘hosts’ were already standing there, waiting.

“You’re late,” the tallest one crossed his arms.

“I know, I know,” Miss Carboni responded, quietly. “I’m sorry, Mr. Jameson.”

Loki bit his lip. He hated the attitude that one always gave her. “It was my fault, really. She had quite the time trying to wake me.”

Jameson ignored him. “You should be able to do your job correctly, by now.”

“I really am sorry,” she bowed her head ever so slightly.

“Just go. Now,” he turned to Loki. “Get inside and lie down on the bed.”

Loki narrowed his eyes before he went in. Oh, what he would love to say to  _ that _ bastard.

“ _ Without _ the attitude, please.”

“I think you should consider yourself lucky that attitude is  _ all _ I’m giving you.”

“Do we  _ really _ need to go through this, again?”

Loki glimpsed around the walls. He supposed he’d rather not.

“Are you ready?” Manning poked his head around the door to the side room.

Jameson’s sharp eyes met Loki’s. Loki chuckled, putting his hands up in the most mocking way possible, before going through the door. Hiding the fact that his breathing was getting shallow by grinning. He was stripped down and given what he had learned was a hospital gown by Midgardian standards. A sickly pale green color. And then he settled best he could in the chair beneath that...that repulsive machine. With its arms stretched over him in an arc. Manning took the opportunity to latch onto Loki’s wrist to stretch his arm out. Better while he was a bit distracted. Nevermind that. Loki still snatched it away, anyway. The man looked up to Jameson for help.

“This is going to happen,” Jameson said. “You might as well take it easy. The more you cooperate, the quicker this will go and the less pain you’ll feel.”

Loki tried to take deep breaths as Manning gingerly took his wrist, again. He was tense and unhappy, which made Loki’s own tension worse. But he stayed still, while the inside of his elbow was dabbed with pungent smelling alcohol. Then came the needle.

Miss Carboni had told him sometime before to close his eyes, when they got to this part. Loki always found that the surprise of the prick in his skin made it worse. Much worse. So his eyes stayed glued to the liquid being pushed through the vial and he pretended that the sharp pain didn’t hurt, when it did. After Manning finished, he helped Jameson set up the machine. Leaving Loki’s eyes to flutter. Getting dreary and sleepy. But it was unfortunate that he never would actually fall asleep. These humans and their primitive science...his magic was something new to them. And they never could figure out how to put him to sleep without affecting its potency. Couldn’t or wouldn’t. Most of their kind didn’t like him very much. In the past, he was untrustworthy because of his tricks and lies (so sensitive these little creatures were). Now, he was infamous for putting their planet under attack. They most certainly weren’t going to put much thought into his comfort.

Loki jolted when Jameson struck his arm with a much larger needle. Then Manning put its twin on the opposite arm. Both attached to tubes, which lead up to the beast’s own limbs.

Loki took a deep breath.  _ Here we go _ .

And with the hum of machinery, his blood was drawn. He watched it travel through the maze, sucked through plastic and metal, where a tank began to fill with small drops of golden fluid. Then it spat the red back out, to travel into his other arm.

As he said, this was primitive. Even the “new” blood looked drained. Darker. Sickly. Or maybe that was just his imagination.

It was a several hour long process. The first one, bearable. Minus the slight tugging sensation from the tubing attached to his right arm. The second, though...he began to feel worn. He began to feel the grit. The glass like pain through the veins in his arms. Each in a wave, every few minutes. The third was usually when his insides felt like they were being twisted like wet rags. Worse and worse. Often and more often, til his eyes were strained and every muscle was tight. He’d beg for mercy, if he could. But this was the time he was thankful for his voice to leave him.

When they finished, he was detached and lifted into a stretcher. He grasped onto the sides of the thing, just trying to remember how to breathe. Every inhale felt like knives seering his diaphragm. He would almost do anything to make this hellish pain  _ stop _ .

By the time they delivered him to Miss Carboni, he was curled up on his side. She sighed in frustration at the condition he was in. Just as she always did. With gentle hands, she tried to tug his arms away, to no avail. He already knew whatever pain killers she would try to get into him wouldn’t work. It never did stop her from trying.

“Shh, it’s okay. It will be okay,” she cradled his head, dabbing his face with a cold, damp cloth. Loki was limp in her arms. Unable to do much besides struggle to breath and let out a near whimpering  _ please _ , every so often. That’s all he could say.

_ Please. _

_ Please. _

_ Please. _

“Focus on your breathing,” Miss Carboni gently said. “Just breathe. This won’t last forever. The pain will go away and you’ll feel better, soon.”

Her voice, hazy in his mind, prompted him to try. Inhale. Exhale. Concentrate.

_ Ow _ .

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

_ Oh, that one hurt _ .

It barely registered, her touch. Softly stroking his cheek with her thumb. He shuddered in her arms and bared his teeth.  _ How much longer do I have to wait for some relief? _

“I...I fear...that I am...dying,” he choked out.

“You’re not going to die.”

“You...you don’t...know...that.”

“Loki…”

“No,” he bit his lip in an attempt to will away the stabbing sensation above his stomach. “You humans...you know nothing about this.”

“What do you mean?”

His explanation was cut off when his muscles tightened again. Cutting off his breath from the sheer ache of it. He didn’t mean to make the soft noise of distress...Miss Carboni took in a deep breath herself. Holding his head closer to her chest and drawing her fingers through his sweat soaked hair.

“I know that they do awful things too you,” she continued. “I wish I could get you out of here. But you can’t give up, okay? Close your eyes and try to think of happier times. Something to distract yourself with. I know it’s hard, right now, but you can do it. You can.”

She took his hand in hers.

“You’re very strong. You’ve survived  _ this _ long.”

_ This isn’t about will. _

_ They’re making me sick. _

_ They’re killing me. _

But instead of saying that, he gave her hand a weak squeeze.

“You...you are a good woman. Taking such good...care of me. May they...sing your praises in...Valhalla.”

That got a laugh out of her. “Well, I can’t leave my patient to suffer alone!”

“Did you...forget who...I am?”

The smile disappeared from her face. “No, I didn’t forget.”

Loki found enough strength to shake his head.

“As I said...you are...a...good woman.”

Sometime during the hour, whether it was some of the medication Miss Carboni had forced into him or just the sheer exhaustion, Loki fell asleep. It was a fitful sleep, but nonetheless…

It had finally grown dark, outside. Miss Carboni tried to coax him to eat. But he wasn’t having it. Food was the last thing he even wanted to see, right now. She tried the same with water, but in the end was only able to get him to down a little ginger ale. Atleast he didn’t feel like throwing up at the taste. He stayed in that bed, overnight. She stayed by his side. Unfortunately, with the morning also came that band of fools. And despite her protests, they chained him up and forced him to his feet. Not that he felt any better, at all. Limbs shaking like twigs on a tree. But did that matter? Of course it didn’t. They dragged him along, while he squeezed his eyes tightly shut and tried not to throw up what little contents were in his stomach. He’d stumble and nearly fall, only to be yanked up by the hair.

He’d never been so happy to see that car.

oooooooooooooooooooo

 

Tony woke up to the sound of loud men. Loud footsteps. Loud insults. Which could only mean one thing.

They must have brought Loki back.

As much as it made him itch, Tony stayed right where he was, when the door was opened. The metal of the cage squealed in protest before Loki was unceremoniously thrown inside. He collapsed on the floor. Both hands and knees giving out under his weight. There was no smartass remark, no grunts or growls to his captors. They jeered at both their prisoners before they left. All Loki could do was claw his way to his blanket, far away from Tony, so his collar wouldn’t be used to teach him a lesson.

Tony sighed. Damn. He looked exactly the same as the last time he’d returned from a disappearance.

“Hey, Lokes?” he called out. “You good over there?”

Loki didn’t move. Not one bit. Tony dared to inch toward him.

“Don’t. You. Dare,” Loki put a finger up in protest. “I...am in...enough pain...already.”

So, Tony stayed put. This was hopeless. What was he supposed to do?

“Hey, I…”

“Stark, please. I’d rather...do  _ anything _ but speak, right now.”

“...Okay. That’s...that’s fine. I don’t think I would if I were in your shoes, either.”

“You mean there’s something...out there that can keep you...from...speaking?”

“Now, see here. I’m over here feeling sorry for you and you insult me?”

Loki grinned. It was strained, but a grin, regardless.

“I think I’m starting to like you.”

“Is...that so?”

“ _ Might _ . Just don’t make me regret it.”

“Well...if you do...remember it was...your decision.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Well, can’t say you’re not tenacious. I guess I can appreciate that from afar.”

Afar. Well, Loki could work with that. If Tony was actually developing some small soft spot for him, that could definitely be used to his advantage. He’d been in long need of an ally in this hell hole. Funny that Tony Stark of all people might just be that ally. Making ‘friends’ with an Avenger was near laughable for him to try, but he was nothing if not flexible.

Well, adaptation was the mother of survival, he supposed. And survival was something he was doing quite a poor job with, at the moment. Innokenti made up his schedule. So he knew when he was at this particular weak point. He knew when to circle his prey. And the thought of being anyone’s prey made Loki feel queasy with anger (okay and a bit of fear; a bit; just a bit?).

“Hey, um...Stark?”

“Yeah?”

Loki sighed. “Could you...maybe do me...a...favor?”

“Depends.”

“Can you...uh,” his throat tightened at the thought of even asking. “Can you...guard me?”

“Guard you?”

Nausea crept up from Loki’s stomach, followed by pain rolling over. He didn’t dare open his mouth. Quick breaths. Ease it down. That wasn’t working, so he just nodded.

However, Tony didn’t quite say anything. Loki looked up, wondering if he’d even noticed his silent answer. He must have, though. His expression was unreadable.

“Sure,” Tony’s voice softened slightly, when he actually found his words. “Of course I’ll guard you. But you have to do the same for me, when you feel better. Deal?”

Loki thought about it. Then, he nodded again.

“Deal.”


End file.
